History Series / Smallville

[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYdCzs5uPrI Somebody Save Me]]''.]]

Once Clark graduates from high school, the series focuses less and less on Smallville and more on Metropolis, where Clark eventually moves to. The sixth season sees the debut of ComicBook/JimmyOlsen (Creator/AaronAshmore), a photographer for the Daily Planet who rekindles his relationship with Chloe, his ex-girlfriend, and competes for her attention with Davis Bloome (Creator/SamWitwer), a paramedic from Metropolis General Hospital. It also properly introduces the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]], led by [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] (Creator/JustinHartley), a billionaire from Star City intending to bring justice to people who are outside the law. Clark's long-lost cousin, [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] (Creator/LauraVandervoort), appears in the seventh season, being used by Lex to find out about Clark's secret. Clark joins the Daily Planet in the eighth season, which also introduces Tess Mercer (Creator/CassidyFreeman), Lex's successor as CEO of [=LuthorCorp=] following his disappearance. The penultimate season has Clark facing an army of cloned Kryptonians led by Major Zod (Creator/CallumBlue), who wants to turn Earth into a new Krypton.

The series is notable for its extreme adherence to ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames when it comes to Clark; the name "Superman" was only said once, in the pilot episode. Showrunners Gough and Millar consciously developed the series to include a "no tights, no flights" rule, preferring a down-to-earth depiction of Clark Kent instead of his Superman identity. This results in Clark not adopting his superhero persona until the GrandFinale, including the suit that comes along with it, and the absence of Clark's traditional flight ability. It also liberally uses LongRunnerCastTurnover; by the final season, Clark and Chloe are the only original cast members remaining.

The series initially took a MonsterOfTheWeek approach to most episodes, introducing "[[AliensAndMonsters meteor freaks]]" who gain various [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity powers]] thanks to exposure to [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] deposited in Smallville during the meteor shower which heralded Clark's arrival. As the years went by, a more diverse array of adversaries were gradually introduced (including many of Superman's RoguesGallery), and the TeenDrama elements fell away in favor of a somewhat darker tone, and a much deeper connection to Creator/DCComics lore. In a nutshell, the first half of the series dealt strictly with Clark figuring out who he was, while the second half was more about Clark finding his place in the larger [[Franchise/TheDCU DC Universe]], frequently butting heads with figures such as Green Arrow, the Justice League, the Comicbook/{{Justice Society|OfAmerica}}, the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, and even the Comicbook/NewGods. By the eighth season, Smallville (the town) [[ArtifactTitle barely appears]], so the series could have been renamed ''Metropolis'' for its final stretch.

Smallville P.S.A

If someone tells you to skip seasons 1-3 please do not be a follower. Seasons 1-3 are the highest rated for a reason. It's when all 3 main characters are friends, and it build their relationships and the dangers they face. If someone tells you to skip seasons 1-3 it's either because they don't like Lana, Lex, their friendships with Clark and are trying to make you not like them as well. They also may be obsessed with Chloe, who is pining after Clark in season 1, but tries to find out Clark's secret in 2, and teams up with Lionel Luthor in 3. Please don't let their biases stop you from enjoying the highest rated seasons.

''Smallville'' managed to survive for a decade, arguably [[note]]''Series/StargateSG1'', while three episodes shorter, has two additional [[MadeForTVMovie Made-for-TV Movies]] and is undeniably straight sci-fi, while ''Smallville'' has explicit magic in the form of Zatanna[[/note]] beating ''Series/StargateSG1'''s record as the longest running American SciFi show (''Franchise/PowerRangers'' doesn't count, because it uses Japanese-made footage. Technically, ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' is the longest running American sci-fi show, from 2003-2019, though episode length is only 3-15 minutes). The show concluded on May 13, 2011 after nine years and 217 episodes, becoming DC's longest-running live-action series. It was also the longest-running WB/CW series until ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' beat its record on May 20, 2015.

Once Clark graduates from high school, the series focuses less and less on Smallville and more on Metropolis, where Clark eventually moves to. The sixth season sees the debut of ComicBook/JimmyOlsen (Creator/AaronAshmore), a photographer for the Daily Planet who rekindles his relationship with Chloe, his ex-girlfriend, and competes for her attention with Davis Bloome (Creator/SamWitwer), a paramedic from Metropolis General Hospital. It also properly introduces the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]], led by [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] (Creator/JustinHartley), a billionaire from Star City intending to bring justice to people who are outside the law. Clark's long-lost cousin, [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] (Creator/LauraVandervoort), appears in the seventh season, being used by Lex to find out about Clark's secret. Clark joins the Daily Planet in the eighth season, which also introduces Tess Mercer (Creator/CassidyFreeman), Lex's successor as CEO of [=LuthorCorp=] following his disappearance who aligns herself with the Justice League. The penultimate season has Clark facing an army of Kryptonians led by Major Zod (Creator/CallumBlue), who wants to turn Earth into a new Krypton.

''Smallville'' managed to survive for a decade, arguably [[note]]''Series/StargateSG1'', while three episodes shorter, has two additional [[MadeForTVMovie Made-for-TV Movies]] and is undeniably straight sci-fi, while ''Smallville'' has explicit magic in the form of Zatanna[[/note]] beating ''Series/StargateSG1'''s record as the longest running American SciFi show (''Franchise/PowerRangers'' doesn't count, because it uses Japanese-made footage. Technically, ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' is the longest running American sci-fi show, from 2003-2019, though episode length is only 3-15 minutes). The show concluded on May 13, 2011 after ten years and 217 episodes, becoming DC's longest-running live-action series and the longest-running WB/CW live-action series until ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' beat its record on May 20, 2015.

By 2001, the Creator/DCComics Franchise/{{Superman}} franchise was moving along steadily with the animated exploits of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. However, the TV side had remained in limbo since ''Series/LoisAndClark'' ended four years prior, and it would be another five years before Supes [[Film/SupermanReturns returned to the big screen]]. Thusly, and perhaps not so coincidentally, when the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer flagship show]] of Creator/TheWB left for its [[Creator/{{UPN}} competitor]] (and future partner in Creator/TheCW), it was decided to offer ''Smallville'' as a new[[Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy ish]] take on the Man of Steel, specifically chronicling Clark Kent's adolescence as he comes into his powers and eventually his taking on TheCape.

Created by Creator/AlfredGough and Creator/MilesMillar alongside Tollin/Robbins Productions (best known for shows such as ''Series/AllThat'' and ''Series/OneTreeHill''), the series premiered on October 16, 2001 and aired a total of ten seasons. The first five seasons were aired on The WB, with the remainder being aired on its successor network, The CW.

The first four seasons are a SuperheroOrigin of sorts, being a TeenDrama that focuses largely on Clark Kent (Creator/TomWelling)'s life in the titular Smallville, the town where he grew up after crash landing on Earth. Growing up under his MuggleFosterParents, Jonathan (Creator/JohnSchneider) and Martha Kent (Creator/AnnetteOToole), Clark is friends with ComicBook/LanaLang (Creator/KristinKreuk), his next-door neighbor, Pete Ross (Creator/SamJonesIII), the first person to know his secret outside his parents, and Chloe Sullivan (Creator/AllisonMack), an aspiring journalist involved in a LoveTriangle between herself, Clark, and Lana. Clark also befriends ComicBook/LexLuthor (Creator/MichaelRosenbaum), the son of billionaire Lionel Luthor (Creator/JohnGlover), while his love for Lana is complicated by her boyfriend and high school jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). The fourth season introduces Jason Teague (Creator/JensenAckles), who meets Lana while she is in Paris and follows her home, and ComicBook/LoisLane (Creator/EricaDurance), Chloe's cousin who takes her cue to join the Daily Planet and becomes Clark's SecondLove after Lana chooses to leave him.

The series is notable for its extreme adherence to ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames. Showrunners Gough and Millar consciously developed the series to include a "no tights, no flights" rule, preferring a down-to-earth depiction of Clark Kent instead of his Superman identity. This results in Clark not adopting his superhero persona until the GrandFinale, including the suit that comes along with it, and the absence of Clark's traditional flight ability. It also liberally uses LongRunnerCastTurnover; by the final season, Clark and Chloe are the only original cast members remaining.

''Smallville'' managed to survive for a decade, arguably [[note]]''Series/StargateSG1'', while three episodes shorter, has two additional [[MadeForTVMovie Made-for-TV Movies]] and is undeniably straight sci-fi, while ''Smallville'' has explicit magic in the form of Zatanna[[/note]] beating ''Series/StargateSG1'''s record as the longest running American SciFi show (''Franchise/PowerRangers'' doesn't count, because it uses Japanese-made footage. Technically, ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' is the longest running American sci-fi show, from 2003-2019, though episode length is only 3-15 minutes). The show concluded on May 13, 2011 after ten years and 217 episodes, becoming DC's longest-running live-action series and the longest-running live-action series that originated from either The WB or The CW until ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' beat its record on May 20, 2015.

Compare with ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', a show with a similar prequel premise for Franchise/{{Batman}}. In fact, before ''Smallville'' was greenlit, Tollin/Robbins were initially tapped to create a show based on a younger Bruce Wayne, with a pilot written by Tim [=McCanlies=] (writer of ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''). Warner Bros. vetoed the show as it wanted to focus on resurrecting Batman back through films following the [[FranchiseKiller franchise-killing disaster]] that was ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' (leading to the production of ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'') instead of television and gave the Superman license to Tollin/Robbins as compensation.

Created by Creator/AlfredGough and Creator/MilesMillar alongside Tollin/Robbins Productions (best known for shows such as ''Series/AllThat'' and ''Series/OneTreeHill''), the series premiered on October 16, 2001.

The first four seasons are a SuperheroOrigin of sorts, being a TeenDrama that focuses largely on Clark's life in the titular Smallville, the town where he grew up after crash landing on Earth. Growing up under his MuggleFosterParents, Jonathan (Creator/JohnSchneider) and Martha Kent (Creator/AnnetteOToole), Clark is friends with ComicBook/LanaLang (Creator/KristinKreuk), his next-door neighbor, Pete Ross (Creator/SamJonesIII), the first person to know his secret outside his parents, and Chloe Sullivan (Creator/AllisonMack), an aspiring journalist involved in a LoveTriangle between herself, Clark, and Lana. Clark also befriends ComicBook/LexLuthor (Creator/MichaelRosenbaum), the son of billionaire Lionel Luthor (Creator/JohnGlover), while his love for Lana is complicated by her boyfriend and high school jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). The fourth season introduces Jason Teague (Creator/JensenAckles), who meets Lana while she is in Paris and follows her home, and ComicBook/LoisLane (Creator/EricaDurance), Chloe's cousin who takes her cue to join the Daily Planet and becomes Clark's SecondLove after Lana chooses to leave him.

By 2001, the Creator/DCComics Franchise/{{Superman}} franchise was moving along steadily with the animated exploits of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. However, the TV side had remained in limbo since ''Series/LoisAndClark'' ended four years prior, and it would be another five years before Supes [[Film/SupermanReturns returned to the big screen]]. Thusly, and perhaps not so coincidentally, when the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer flagship show]] of Creator/TheWB left for its [[Creator/{{UPN}} competitor]] (and future partner in Creator/TheCW), it was decided to offer ''Smallville'' as a new[[Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy ish]] on the Man of Steel, specifically chronicling Clark Kent's adolescence as he comes into his powers and eventually his taking on TheCape.

''Smallville'' is a television series based on the Creator/DCComics {{superhero}} Franchise/{{Superman}}, featuring Creator/TomWelling in the titular role. Created by Creator/AlfredGough and Creator/MilesMillar alongside Tollin/Robbins Productions (best known for shows such as ''Series/AllThat'' and ''Series/OneTreeHill''), the series premiered on Creator/TheWB on October 16, 2001. It ran on the network for five seasons, before moving to its successor network, Creator/TheCW, for an additional five seasons.

The first four seasons are a SuperheroOrigin of sorts, being a TeenDrama that focuses largely on Clark Kent's life in the titular Smallville, the town where he grew up after crash landing on Earth. Growing up under his MuggleFosterParents, Jonathan (Creator/JohnSchneider) and Martha Kent (Creator/AnnetteOToole), Clark is friends with ComicBook/LanaLang (Creator/KristinKreuk), his next-door neighbor, Pete Ross (Creator/SamJonesIII), the first person to know his secret outside his parents, and Chloe Sullivan (Creator/AllisonMack), an aspiring journalist involved in a LoveTriangle between herself, Clark, and Lana. Clark also befriends ComicBook/LexLuthor (Creator/MichaelRosenbaum), the son of billionaire Lionel Luthor (Creator/JohnGlover), while his love for Lana is complicated by her boyfriend and high school jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). The fourth season introduces Jason Teague (Creator/JensenAckles), who meets Lana while she is in Paris and follows her home, and ComicBook/LoisLane (Creator/EricaDurance), Chloe's cousin who takes her cue to join the Daily Planet and becomes Clark's SecondLove after Lana chooses to leave him.

Once Clark graduates from high school, the series focuses less and less on Smallville and more on Metropolis, where Clark eventually moves to. The sixth season sees the debut of ComicBook/JimmyOlsen (Creator/AaronAshmore), a photographer for the Daily Planet who rekindles his relationship with Chloe, his ex-girlfriend, and competes for her attention with Davis Bloome (Samuel Witwer), a paramedic from Metropolis General Hospital. It also properly introduces the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]], led by [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] (Creator/JustinHartley), a billionaire from Star City intending to bring justice to people who are outside the law. Clark's long-lost cousin, [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] (Creator/LauraVandervoort), appears in the seventh season, being used by Lex to find out about Clark's secret. Clark joins the Daily Planet in the eighth season, which also introduces Tess Mercer (Creator/CassidyFreeman), Lex's successor as CEO of [=LuthorCorp=] following his disappearance who aligns herself with the Justice League. The penultimate season has Clark facing an army of Kryptonians led by Major Zod (Creator/CallumBlue), who wants to turn Earth into a new Krypton.

* ''Smallville: Season 11'' (2012-2013) - Initially set six months after the GrandFinale, the comic depicts the adventures of Clark in the ''Smallville'' universe, in his early days as Superman. Without limitations of budget and rights issues, other familiar elements of DC lore were introduced, such as {{Franchise/Batman}} and some of his RoguesGallery, [[{{Franchise/WonderWoman}} Diana of Themyscira & Steve Trevor]], the Teen Titans as led by [[Franchise/TheFlash Jay Garrick]], and Clark's cousin Kara Zor-El, a recurring character who accepted her own destiny as Supergirl.

Once Clark graduates from high school, the series focuses less and less on Smallville and more on Metropolis, where Clark eventually moves to. The sixth season sees the debut of ComicBook/JimmyOlsen, a photographer for the Daily Planet who rekindles his relationship with Chloe, his ex-girlfriend, and competes for her attention with Davis Bloome (Samuel Witwer), a paramedic from Metropolis General Hospital. It also properly introduces the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]], led by [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] (Creator/JustinHartley), a billionaire from Star City intending to bring justice to people who are outside the law. Clark's long-lost cousin, [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] (Creator/LauraVandervoort), appears in the seventh season, being used by Lex to find out about Clark's secret. Clark joins the Daily Planet in the eighth season, which also introduces Tess Mercer (Creator/CassidyFreeman), Lex's successor as CEO of [=LuthorCorp=] following his disappearance who aligns herself with the Justice League. The penultimate season has Clark facing an army of Kryptonians led by Major Zod (Creator/CallumBlue), who wants to turn Earth into a new Krypton.

The series is notable for its extreme adherence to ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames. Showrunners Gough and Millar consciously developed the series to include a "no tights, no flights" rule, preferring a down-to-earth depiction of Clark Kent instead of his Superman identity. This results in Clark not adopting his superhero persona until the GrandFinale, including the suit that comes along with it, and the absence of Clark's traditional flight ability. It also liberally uses LongRunnerCastTurnover; by the final season, Clark is the only original cast member remaining.

Once Clark graduates from high school in the fourth season, the series focuses less and less on Smallville and more on Metropolis, where Clark eventually moves into. The sixth season sees the debut of ComicBook/JimmyOlsen, a photographer for the Daily Planet who rekindles his relationship with Chloe, his ex-girlfriend, and competes for her attention with Davis Bloome (Samuel Witwer), a paramedic from Metropolis General Hospital. It also properly introduces the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]], led by [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] (Creator/JustinHartley), a billionaire from Star City intending to bring justice to people who are outside the law. Tess Mercer (Creator/CassidyFreeman) debuts in the eighth season, replacing Lex as CEO of [=LuthorCorp=] following his disappearance and aligns herself with the Justice League. The penultimate season has Clark facing an army of Kryptonians led by Major Zod (Creator/CallumBlue), who wants to turn Earth into a new Krypton.

* ''Smallville: Season 11'' (2012-2013) - Initially set six months after the GrandFinale, the comic depicts the adventures of Clark in the ''Smallville'' universe, in his early days as Superman. Without limitations of budget and rights issues, other familiar elements of DC lore were introduced, such as {{Franchise/Batman}} and some of his RoguesGallery, [[{{Franchise/WonderWoman}} Diana of Themyscira & Steve Trevor]], the Teen Titans as led by [[Franchise/TheFlash Jay Garrick]], and Clark's cousin Kara Zor-El, a recurring character who accepted her own destiny as {{Franchise/Supergirl}}.

''Smallville'' is a television series based on the Creator/DCComics {{superhero}} Franchise/{{Superman}}, featuring Creator/TomWelling in the titular role. Created by Creator/AlfredGough and Creator/MilesMillar alongside Tollin/Robbins Productions (best known for shows such as ''Series/AllThat'' and ''Series/OneTreeHill''), the series premiered on Creator/TheWB on October 16, 2011. It ran on the network for five seasons, before moving to its successor network, Creator/TheCW, for an additional five seasons.

The series is notable for its extreme adherence to ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames. Showrunners Gough and Millar consciously developed the series to include a "no tights, no flights" rule, preferring a down-to-earth depiction of Clark Kent instead of his Superman identity. This results in Clark not adopting his superhero persona until the GrandFinale, including the suit that comes along with it, and the absence of Clark's traditional flight ability. It also liberally uses a LongRunnerCastTurnover; by the final season, Clark is the only original cast member remaining.

The first four seasons are a SuperheroOrigin of sorts, being a TeenDrama that focuses largely on Clark Kent's life in the titular Smallville, the town where he grew up after crash landing on Earth. Growing up under his MuggleFosterParents, Jonathan (Creator/CallumBlue) and Martha Kent (Creator/AnnetteOToole), Clark is friends with ComicBook/LanaLang (Creator/KristinKreuk), his next-door neighbor, Pete Ross (Creator/SamJonesIII), the first person to know his secret outside his parents, and Chloe Sullivan (Creator/AllisonMack), an aspiring journalist involved in a LoveTriangle between herself, Clark, and Lana. Clark also befriends ComicBook/LexLuthor (Creator/MichaelRosenbaum), the son of billionaire Lionel Luthor (Creator/JohnGlover), while his love for Lana is complicated by her boyfriend and high school jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). The fourth season introduces Jason Teague (Creator/JensenAckles), who meets Lana while she is in Paris and follows her home, and ComicBook/LoisLane (Creator/EricaDurance), Chloe's cousin who takes her cue to join the Daily Planet and becomes Clark's SecondLove after Lana chooses to leave him.

The first four seasons are a SuperheroOrigin of sorts, being a TeenDrama that focuses largely on Clark Kent's life in the titular Smallville, the town where he grew up after crash landing on Earth. Growing up under his MuggleFosterParents, Jonathan (Creator/CallumBlue) and Martha Kent (Creator/AnnetteOToole), Clark is friends with ComicBook/LanaLang (Creator/KristinKreuk), his next-door neighbor, Pete Ross (Creator/SamJonesIII), the first person to know his secret outside his parents, and Chloe Sullivan (Creator/AllisonMack), an aspiring journalist involved in a LoveTriangle between herself, Clark, and Lana. Clark also befriends ComicBook/LexLuthor (Creator/MichaelRosenbaum), the son of billionaire Lionel Luthor (Creator/JohnGlover), while his love for Lana is complicated by her boyfriend and high school jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). The fourth season introduces Jason Teague (Creator/JensenAckles), who meets Lana while she is in Paris and follows her home, and ComicBook/LoisLane (Creator/EricaDurance), Chloe's cousin who takes her cue to join The Daily Planet and becomes Clark's SecondLove after Lana chooses to leave him.

Once Clark graduates from high school in the fourth season, the series focuses less and less on Smallville and more on Metropolis, where Clark eventually moves into. The sixth season sees the debut of ComicBook/JimmyOlsen, a photographer for The Daily Planet who rekindles his relationship with Chloe, his ex-girlfriend, and competes for her attention with Davis Bloome (Samuel Witwer), a paramedic from Metropolis General Hospital. It also properly introduces the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]], led by [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] (Creator/JustinHartley), a billionaire from Star City who forms a group superheroes intending to bring justice to people who are outside the law. Tess Mercer (Creator/CassidyFreeman) debuts in the eighth season, replacing Lex as CEO of [=LuthorCorp=] following his disappearance and aligns herself with the Justice League. The penultimate season has Clark facing an army of Kryptonians led by Major Zod (Creator/CallumBlue), who wants to turn Earth into a new Krypton.

Whereas ''Series/LoisAndClark'' shifted gears toward a Comicbook/PostCrisis vision of Superman, Creator/JephLoeb led the way in bringing many [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ideas back into prominence on ''Smallville''. Most notable among these is the origin tale of Clark and Lex knowing each other in high school, and Lois being introduced to Clark long before their partnership at the ''Daily Planet''.[[note]]Interestingly enough, one 1940's comic featured a young Clark/Superboy winning a high school journalism contest, with the prize being a day as a cub reporter on the ''Daily Planet''. Guess who the other winner was?[[/note]]

The first four seasons are a SuperheroOrigin of sorts, being a TeenDrama that focuses largely on Clark Kent's life in the titular Smallville, the town where he grew up after crash landing on Earth. Growing up under his MuggleFosterParents, Jonathan (Creator/CallumBlue) and Martha Kent (Creator/AnnetteOToole), Clark is friends with ComicBook/LanaLang (Creator/KristinKreuk), his next-door neighbor, Pete Ross (Creator/SamJonesIII), the first person to know his secret outside his parents, and Chloe Sullivan (Creator/AllisonMack), an aspiring journalist involved in a LoveTriangle between herself, Clark, and Lana. Clark also befriends ComicBook/LexLuthor (Creator/MichaelRosenbaum), the son of billionaire Lionel Luthor (Creator/JohnGlover), while his love for Lana is complicated by her boyfriend and high school jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). The fourth season introduces Jason Teague (Creator/JensenAckles), who met Lana while she was in Paris and followed her home, and ComicBook/LoisLane (Creator/EricaDurance), Chloe's cousin who takes her cousin's cue to join The Daily Planet and becomes Clark's SecondLove after Lana chooses to leave him.

The series is notable for its extreme adherence to ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames. Showrunners Gough and Millar consciously developed the series to include a "no tights, no flights" rule, preferring a down-to-earth depiction of Clark Kent instead of his Superman identity. This results in Clark not adopting the Superman identity until the GrandFinale, including the suit that comes along with it, and the absence of Clark's traditional flight ability. It also liberally uses a LongRunnerCastTurnover; by the final season, Clark is the only original cast member remaining.

By 2001, the Franchise/{{Superman}} franchise was moving along steadily with the animated exploits of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. However, the TV side had remained in limbo since ''Series/LoisAndClark'' ended four years prior, and it would be another five years before Supes [[Film/SupermanReturns returned to the big screen]]. Thusly, and perhaps not so coincidentally, when the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer flagship show]] of Creator/TheWB left for its [[Creator/{{UPN}} competitor]] (and future partner in Creator/TheCW), it was decided to offer a new[[Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy ish]] take on the Man of Steel, specifically chronicling Clark Kent's adolescence as he comes into his powers and eventually his taking on TheCape.

Created by Creator/AlfredGough & Creator/MilesMillar alongside Tollin/Robbins Productions (best known for shows such as ''Series/AllThat'' & ''Series/OneTreeHill''), ''Smallville'' premiered on October 16, 2001. The show started out as more of a TeenDrama, focusing largely on Clark's interactions with his friends, family, and {{Love Interest}}s, and how this leads to his [[CharacterDevelopment development]] as a SuperHero. It initially took a MonsterOfTheWeek approach to most episodes, introducing "[[AliensAndMonsters meteor freaks]]" who gain various [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity powers]] thanks to exposure to [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] deposited in Smallville during the meteor shower which heralded Clark's arrival. As the years went by, a more diverse array of adversaries were gradually introduced (including many of Superman's RoguesGallery), and the TeenDrama elements fell away in favor of a somewhat darker tone, and a much deeper connection to Creator/DCComics lore.

Whereas ''Series/LoisAndClark'' shifted gears toward a Comicbook/PostCrisis vision of Superman, Creator/JephLoeb led the way in bringing many [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ideas back into prominence on ''Smallville''. Most notable among these is the origin tale of Clark and ComicBook/LexLuthor knowing each other in high school, and Comicbook/LoisLane being introduced to Clark long before their partnership at the ''Daily Planet''.[[note]]Interestingly enough, one 1940's comic featured a young Clark/Superboy winning a high school journalism contest, with the prize being a day as a cub reporter on the ''Daily Planet''. Guess who the other winner was?[[/note]]

The first half of the series dealt strictly with Clark figuring out who he was, while the second half was more about Clark finding his place in the larger [[Franchise/TheDCU DC Universe]], frequently butting heads with recurring guests such as Comicbook/GreenArrow, the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica, the Comicbook/{{Justice Society|OfAmerica}}, the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, and even the Comicbook/NewGods.

The show managed to survive for a decade, arguably [[note]]''Series/StargateSG1'', while three episodes shorter, has two additional [[MadeForTVMovie Made-for-TV Movies]] and is undeniably straight sci-fi, while ''Smallville'' has explicit magic in the form of Zatanna[[/note]] beating ''Series/StargateSG1'''s record as the longest running American SciFi show (''Franchise/PowerRangers'' doesn't count, because it uses Japanese-made footage). (Technically, ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' is the longest running American sci-fi show, from 2003-2019, though episode length is only 3-15 minutes). The show concluded on May 13, 2011 after ten years and 218 episodes, becoming DC's longest-running live-action series; given that Smallville (the town) had barely appeared since Season 8, the show could have quite reasonably been renamed ''Metropolis'' for the final stretch.

Tie ins include:

In October 2012, Creator/GregBerlanti brought DC back to the CW with a new take on a [[ComicBook/GreenArrow character]] introduced near the end of the show's run, with the series ''Series/{{Arrow}}''; this set the foundation for what would become known as the ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'', which eventually featured its own Superman played by Creator/TylerHoechlin. In 2019, as a way to acknowledge its role as the Arrowverse's predecessor, Creator/TomWelling and Creator/EricaDurance [[RoleReprise reprised]] their roles for the epic adaptation of the ''[[TropeMakers original]]'' CrisisCrossover, ''Series/{{Crisis on Infinite Earths|2019}}''; during which it was revealed that, per the Arrowverse's in-show [[TheMultiverse Multiverse]], the Smallville Earth is designated Earth-167, a reference to Alfred Gough and Miles Millar's birth year of 1967.

Compare with ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', a show with a similar prequel premise for Bruce Wayne.

!!This Series Provides Examples Of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:A to B]]
* NinetiesAntiHero: ConversationalTroping in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E13Warrior Warrior]]":
-->'''Alec/Devilicus:''' ''[threatening to push Chloe off a building]'' Lethal enforcers are way more interesting. They were big in the nineties.
* AboveTheInfluence:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E15Nicodemus Nicodemus]]", Lana tries to seduce [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark]] while she's under the [[LoveIsInTheAir influence of a mind-altering flower]] that makes her [[NotHimself not herself]]. This includes her [[LingerieScene stripping down to her underwear]], going for a swim at the pool and them doing a SexySurfacingShot in front of him. Despite his attraction to her, he puts up a fight and she ends up "only" kissing him.
** During "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E14Persuasion Persuasion]]", Clark does his best not to take advantage of people while they're under the influence of his newly gained CompellingVoice powers.
* AbsenteeActor: Clark is the only character to appear in every episode and Lex the only other character to appear in every episode he's credited on (the first 7 seasons plus a guest appearance in Season 10). Whitney, Pete, Lionel, Jason, Jimmy, Oliver, Kara, Tess, Davis and Zod never appeared in every episode of a season despite being on the opening credits at various points (Lionel was a regular on Seasons 2 to 7, the others for between one and three seasons). Chloe misses episodes in Seasons 2 and 4 and hardly appears in Season 10. Lana misses episodes of Seasons 5, 6 and 7. Jonathan misses episodes in Seasons 3, 4 and 5. Martha misses episodes in Seasons 4, 5 and 6. (All three leave the show after that, only managing occasional guest appearances.) Lois doesn't manage a whole season until Season 10, despite being on the show since Season 4 and the opening titles since Season 5.
* AbsurdPhobia: Clark has a crippling fear of heights, despite his NighInvulnerability. He eventually gets over it.
* AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil: Chloe seems to believe that Smallville High has one. When Clark decides to run for StudentCouncilPresident, she grills him on his positions on issues ranging from the menu prices in the cafeteria to the administration's habit of searching student lockers for drugs, in a manner that suggests she thinks he'll have some influence over those policies.
* AbusiveParents
** Lex's dad, Lionel, withholds affection and approval from his son in the warped belief that it will make him stronger. Their tortured relationship is one of the keystones of the series, and ends very badly when Lex kills his dad.
** It is revealed in Season 3 that Lionel himself suffered physical abuse from his drunken, [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] parents, who sought to keep him down in the gutter with them, and prevent him from succeeding at anything; this is one of the reasons he's so oblivious to his abuse of Lex, as he thinks he has a firm grasp of what abuse looks like.
** And then there's [[BrokenBird Tess Mercer]], whose real parents [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned her]] and whose foster father broke her eardrums and arm through physical violence.
** Then in Season 10, we meet [[AlternateUniverse Earth-2 Lionel]], who takes this UpToEleven, being far worse than his Earth-1 counterpart, encouraging his kids to plot against one another for the privilege of being his BastardUnderstudy, and eventually tries to have them all killed off at one point or another. ArchnemesisDad indeed.
** In Season 4, we meet Jason Teague, who's parents were also less than loving. His father, Edward, subjects him to FinancialAbuse, disinheriting him when he sets off on his own. His mother, EvilMatriarch Genevieve is even worse, being more or less Lionel's DistaffCounterpart. She's emotionally manipulative of Jason and his girlfriend, whom she plans to murder in order to fulfill a prophecy; her control of Jason is so extreme that by the end of the season he's unwilling to do ''anything'' without seeking her permission first.
** Jor-El towards Clark. The reasons behind his behavior and actions toward Kal-El may have been well-meaning and noble, but the fact remains [=AI=]!Jor-El's actions were downright, often unnecessarily, cruel and [[SuperDickery dickish]]. He's burned the mark of Clark's Kryptonian ancestors onto his chest as part of his efforts to control his son, even {{brainwashed}} Clark outright, froze Clark in a solid pillar of ice, and even disowns him early in Season 10.
** Davis only meets his mother Faora a single time, but in that single meeting, she lectures him on not having killed enough people before running him through with a pole to activate his HealingFactor. She definitely counts, and given that it's Zod's plan, he does as well.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E14Obsession Obsession]]", we learn Alicia's parents locked her in a lead-lined room in their house when she was a child to prevent her from using her {{teleportation}} powers, and that Alicia is now psychotic. But Alicia is the only one we hear talking about this, and it's {{ambiguous|Situation}} whether she went crazy due to this abuse or whether this was just their attempt to keep an already-crazy Alicia in line.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E12Leech Leech]]", Eric's parents are this to him. Mr. Summers is a total asshole towards his son (for the most part, he's emotionally and psychologically abusive, though physical abuse is strongly implied), while Mrs. Summers does little to help Eric.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E16Stray Stray]]" has James Gibson and Debra Birch, Ryan's stepparents who try to take advantage of his {{Telepathy}} powers to commit crimes and treat him as a tool.
* AcademyOfAdventure: Smallville High ends up as one of these, not just because the Kryptonian Clark Kent is a student there, but due to the meteor shower that hit the town, which caused many of its students and faculty to develop odd powers and ending up as a MonsterOfTheWeek.
* AccidentalAthlete: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E03Hothead Hothead]]", a [[JerkJock bullying football team member]] throws a football at Chloe's head. Clark Kent [[CatchAndReturn catches it and throws it back]] hard enough to floor the bully. The coach lets Clark on the team after this.
%%* AccidentalHero: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E13Hero Hero]]"
* AccidentalPervert:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E04XRay X-Ray]]", has Clark gain his XRayVision spontaneously and he just so happens to turn in the direction of the girls' locker room at that time and ends up seeing Lana's ToplessnessFromTheBack as she's getting changed. And while it started as an accident, his reaction goes from confused to [[EatingTheEyeCandy happy]] very quickly.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E20Fade Fade]]", Clark accidentally sees Lois naked when she burst out of her bathroom starkers, [[OpenTheDoorAndSeeAllThePeople not knowing he was on the other side]] (she thought he was an intruder, and decided to [[FullFrontalAssault confront said intruder with nothing but a shower bush]]).
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E16Escape Escape]]", Clark ended up with Chloe in his arms and both of them are covered with nothing but a ModestyTowel when Silver Banshee possessed her and she tried to seduce Clark in the shower, only to be transferred away to Lois, resulting in Chloe having no memory of how she got there but being extremely freaked out.
* ActionGirl:
** Lois Lane has earned a third-degree black belt in Karate and finds herself involved in plenty of the action in the series.
** Most of the female superheroes (like ComicBook/BlackCanary and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}) are obviously this as well.
** Lana becomes one in season 8 after she TookALevelInBadass and donned the Prometheus Suit that gives her SuperStrength and SuperSpeed.
* ActorAllusion:
** Happens a few time with Jonathan who is played by Creator/JohnSchneider, who played one of the main characters in ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'':
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E15Nicodemus Nicodemus]]" opens with Jonathan driving his pickup truck while the ''Dukes of Hazzard'' ThemeTune plays on the radio.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E06Exposed Exposed]]" introduces Senator Jack Jennings, who is played by John's ''Dukes of Hazzard'' co-star Creator/TomWopat, as [[IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine one of Jonathan's oldest friends]]. One scene has him bringing up that he was "under the bleachers with the sheriff's daughters", which is hilarious as the sheriff on Dukes of Hazzard was the IneffectualSympatheticVillain. And Lex is the one who says "good ol' boy" this time.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E19Precipice Precipice]]" has the new sheriff telling Jonathan to his face that "those GoodOlBoy days are over".
** When Creator/MargotKidder, the ComicBook/LoisLane actress from Creator/ChristopherReeve's ''Film/{{Superman}}'' movies, shows up as the assistant to Reeve's character Dr. Swann, she implies that she and Dr. Swann were/are attracted to each other. When questioned as to whether they had ever been in a relationship together, Kidder's character wistfully replies "In another lifetime."
** When Creator/DeanCain, ''Series/LoisAndClark'''s Clark Kent actor, shows up, we briefly see a handkerchief with his character's initials: "C.K." He also tells Clark that he has "powers beyond those of ordinary men".
** When we see the {{Video Will|s}} of Lois Lane's mother, she is played by Creator/TeriHatcher, who played Lois in ''Series/LoisAndClark''.
** Creator/JamesMarsters, famous for playing the vampire Spike on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', plays a professor who denies the existence of vampires. The main villain of the episode is a girl named Buffy who has been turned into a vampire-like being. Though the Buffy name is an InUniverse reference, as Chloe says she's changed the names.
** [[Series/StargateSG1 Michael Shanks]] playing [[Comicbook/{{Hawkman}} Carter Hall]], an AdventurerArchaeologist using technology left behind by AncientAstronauts. Oh, and his superpower is reincarnation.
** [[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Colonel Tigh]] appears as a military commander who later gets an eye patch.
** Being cast as Metallo, we have Creator/BrianAustinGreen as [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles a cyborg again]].
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E18Progeny Progeny]]", Moira Sullivan's (Creator/LyndaCarter) {{Mind Control}}s a Meteor Freak who's able to [[Series/WonderWoman grab people with an air lasso]].
* AdaptationalBadass
** In the comics ComicBook/LexLuthor's fighting abilities vary, but typically he isn't much of a physical threat (intellectually is another matter) without his warsuit. On ''Smallville'' he was a deadly martial artist who once battled Green Arrow to a draw in a GunKata duel.
** Lionel Luthor, Lex's AbusiveDad, is usually little more than an alcoholic brute. ''Smallville'' makes him the prototypical Lex, a grandiose CorruptCorporateExecutive and master manipulator, as well as a top-tier BadassNormal.
** Season 9 transformed B-list villain The Icicle II into a GameBreaker whose presence alone was enough to turn any room into [[WalkingWasteland an arctic wasteland]]. He's able to take out three Justice Society members before being stopped.
** Season 10 also does this with [[TortureTechnician Desaad]], changing his from a sniveling DirtyCoward into a SerialKiller whose PsychicPowers allow him to take on Clark.
* AdaptationDyeJob:
** ComicBook/LanaLang was a [[HeroesWantRedheads redhead]] in the comics, and ComicBook/LoisLane had [[BrainyBrunette jet-black hair]]. In this version, Lana is a brunette and Lois starts out with light-brown hair, before dying her hair darker in later seasons.
** The eye colors of most main characters are different. ComicBook/LexLuthor has grey instead of green, Clark Kent has green instead of blue, Lana Lang has brown instead of green, Lois Lane has brown instead of blue/violet.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: A lot of characters (specifically ComicBook/LexLuthor, ComicBook/LoisLane and various superheroes and supervillains) showed up years ''before'' Clark Kent even became Franchise/{{Superman}}.
* AdaptationNameChange: In the comics, Andrea Rojas codename as a vigilante is Acrata, while in ''Smallville'' she calls herself "The Angel of Vengeance", but the name Acrata is still used for as the name of the organization her mother worked for.
* AdaptationalNationality: In the comics, Andrea Rojas is a member of Mexico's national superhero team, but in ''Smallville'' she's American.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange:
** Zod is depicted as more of a strategic planner due to being de-powered for the most part, he actually seeks out to befriend Clark, believing he can help their people gain their powers like him, and actually strikes up a friendship with Lois (mostly to manipulate her). His motivation is also changed; instead of wishing to rule ForTheEvulz, he was originally a noble, charismatic military leader [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds whose family died in the battle of Kandor, and was denied the chance to clone his beloved son, resulting in his]] StartOfDarkness. He's a literal WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds in this case too, as he's responsible for the destruction of Krypton in this continuity.
** In the comics Lex's father has varied from a normal, unmemorable man to an alcoholic brute. Lionel Luthor in ''Smallville'' is [[AdaptationExpansion one of the most important figures in both Lex and Clark's life]], being a shrewd but heartless CorruptCorporateExecutive and ManipulativeBastard much like Lex is in the comics and is TheHeavy for the [[AdaptationalVillainy most of the early seasons]].
** Comic ComicBook/LanaLang was Clark's ChildhoodFriend, with her, Clark and Pete being ThreeAmigos during their younger years. She's often one of his closest's confidants, being the first person to learn about his powers and [[ChildhoodFriendRomance her romantic interest on him]] is often one-sided on her part. In ''Smallville'', while they both grow up in the same town they're not particularly close until late high-school, and Clark is the one that's pinning for her attention, with Lana being portrayed as the Girl of his dreams that's just out of reach. Most of Lana's comic traits are instead given to Chloe.
** In the comics, Mr. Mxyzptlk is an omnipotent RealityWarper imp from another dimension who often has a BlueAndOrangeMorality and is often PlayedForLaughs with a quirky personality. His ''Smallville'' incarnation is [[AdaptationalWimp far less impressive]], being a simple human student with metahuman powers that give him a CompellingVoice and his personality is more of a smug {{Jerkass}} that uses his powers for his own benefit, including forcing Chloe to kiss him.
** The comic version of Bizarro is either a confused HarmlessVillain or an ObliviouslyEvil one. ''Smallville's'' version is [[AdaptationalIntelligence dangerously intelligent]] and fully intends to KillAndReplace Clark.
** In the comics, Maxima is [[TheHighQueen a proud alien queen]] that wants Superman for [[StalkerWithATestTube his genes to breed powerful warriors as her heirs]] for the glory of her people and [[NotGoodWithRejection reacts violently when he dares to reject her]] and attempts to make him her BreedingSlave by force, [[LackOfEmpathy uncaring]] for whether or not he loves her. Her ''Smallville'' incarnation portrays her more as a selfish brat, who has no interest in heirs for her people and desires Clark as a mate for her own needs since she's sexually frustrated due to a combination of her LivingAphrodisiac powers, her [[HeadTurningBeauty beauty]] and [[SexGoddess sexual prowess]] that makes her unable to find a partner that is able to "[[SpeedSex keep up]]" with her. Her LackOfEmpathy manifests in her seeing Clark's human friends as disposable, and attempting to [[MurderTheHypotenuse kill Lois]] for holding Clark's interest. But when Clark himself firmly rejects her and sends her away, she respects his wish and antagonizes him no further.
** The comic book version of Cat Grant is a GoodBadGirl who ReallyGetsAround, wears slutty outfits, has [[BreastExpansion breast implants]], and couldn't care less about politics. Her ''Smallville'' counterpart dresses very conservatively, is pudgy, can't even say the word "sex" and has to spell it, and is a passionately StrawConservative. Comic Cat only has a vendetta against ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, while ''Smallville'' Cat dislikes ''all'' caped vigilantes.
** ''Smallville'''s ComicBook/{{Mera}} is a SmugSuper who looks down [[{{Muggles}} on normal people]], traits that are absent on her comic counterpart. And while they're both {{Fiery Redhead}s}, ''Smallville'' Mera's feistiness is more [[TranquilFury cool and collected]] as opposed to comic Mera who's more prone to big outbursts.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: A lot of characters (specifically ComicBook/LexLuthor, ComicBook/LoisLane and various superheroes and supervillains) in the show showed up years '''before''' Clark Kent even became Franchise/{{Superman}}.
* AdaptationOriginConnection: Some of the Meteor Freaks are established characters in the comics that have completely different origins, like Plastique and Parasite.
* AdaptationalVillainy:
** Believe it or not, ''Jor-El'' is one of the main antagonists of Season 3. Even after the season, he still does pretty nasty stuff like [[TheyWereHoldingYouBack freezing Chloe almost to death and intending to trap Clark in a crystal until everyone he cares for has died.]] The GrandFinale does reveal [[WellIntentionedExtremist this was all to test Clark's will in order to make him the hero he's meant to be...]] though he did some pretty dark stuff in pursuit of that, and it's all fairly unneeded given how well Clark fared without Jor-El's intervention.
** Zor-El was a good guy in the comics, who sent his daughter [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]], to Earth as a protector for her cousin. ''Smallville'' made him an outright villain who sent his daughter to Earth as part of a plot to have himself resurrected as a conqueror.
* AffablyEvil: Lionel Luthor has no interest in hurting people pointlessly. As long as you're not in his way (and aren't [[ArchnemesisDad related to him]]), you're in no danger. The same can be said of [[spoiler: his daughter]] Tess Mercer, who eventually took over [=LuthorCorp=]; the same can ''not'' be said for his son Lex, or his AlternateUniverse [[EvilCounterpart counterpart]], Earth-2 Lionel, who are both classic examples of BitchInSheepsClothing.
* AffectionateGestureToTheHead:
** Clark and Lois start patting each other's head after they drop the VitriolicBestBuds facade and start acknowledging their UnresolvedSexualTension.
** Chloe tenderly pats Clark, who is unconscious, in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E16Fever Fever]]".
** Clark pats Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]" when evil (well, eviler) Lex knocked her out cold.
** Clark gently touches Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E09Abyss Abyss]]" along with a forehead kiss before wiping her memories of his secret.
* AfraidOfNeedles: PlayedWith, Clark is not actually afraid of needles, but pretends he is since if someone tries to inject it will expose his secret since he's MadeOfIron.
* AlasPoorVillain: Lex in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]" attracts this reaction InUniverse, with Clark visiting the site of his death and [[DueToTheDead spreads a handful of ashes]].
* AlliterativeName
** Keeping up with its comic book origins, has '''L'''ois '''L'''ane, '''L'''ionel '''L'''uthor, '''L'''ana '''L'''ang, '''L'''ucy '''L'''ane, and '''L'''ex '''L'''uthor (though his first name is actually short for Alexander). The [[AlliterativeFamily Luthor tree]] also gets another one after TheReveal that Tess Mercer was born '''L'''utessa '''L'''ena '''L'''uthor. Several other minor character also apply, such as '''Z'''atanna '''Z'''atara, '''J''''onn '''J''''onnz, and '''G'''ordon '''G'''odfrey.
** We also get some expanded family trees that run with the theme, such as Lana's parents ('''L'''aura and '''L'''ewis) and Lex's mom '''L'''illian and grandparents ('''L'''achlan and E'''l'''iza.) Also, in a dream world, Lex married Lana and their daughter's name was '''L'''ily. Mind you, some of Smallville's LL names are OlderThanTheyThink, mentioned once or twice in gold/silver age comic stories.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: The series starts in this scenario: Pete has a crush on Chloe, who has a crush on Clark, who has a crush on Lana, who is with Whitney.
* AlreadyMetEveryone: Since ''Smallville'' is supposed to be a {{prequel}} to Clark's life as Franchise/{{Superman}}, the early seasons avoided introducing characters Clark would meet much later in his career, with the notable exception of ComicBook/LexLuthor. This was dropped in the later half of the show, which introduced several characters and concepts from 'the 'Franchise/{{Superman}}'' mythos and Creator/DCComics.
* AlternateContinuity: It's not ''impossible'' to reconcile the ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'' version of the Crisis with the one that already happened in the ''Smallville'' Season 11 comics — it might explain why Clark was so blasé about the idea — but it's probably best to regard them as two separate continuities.
* AlternateUniverse: While the show itself had examples in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E20Noir Noir]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E18Apocalypse Apocalypse]]," and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E10Luthor Luthor]]", ''Smallville'' itself is one relative to the rest of the ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}''.
* AmazonianBeauty:
** Smallville has one of the more athletic versions of Lois Lane, and she gets quite a few WorkoutFanservice scenes that shows off her muscle tone.
** Minor villain Athena from "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E17Combat Combat]]" is a striking woman with a muscular physique, and is even played by Wrestling/WWE Diva Wrestling/AshleyMassaro. Her intro involves a lot of MaleGaze as she gets dressed in a locker room, purely for {{fanservice}}.
* AmnesiacLiar: When Chloe tells Clark he's a meteor freak in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E19Blank Blank]]" though she didn't know that she was lying since she really did think he was meteor-infected.
** CriminalAmnesiac: Lex, on the other hand, immediately exploits the situation to learn something important about the Kawatche Caves.
* AndIMustScream:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E21Forever Forever]]" features this trope with the MonsterOfTheWeek, whose touch can [[TakenForGranite turn people to wax]]. They clearly remain conscious during this, though, as the camera shows their [[CanOnlyMoveTheEyes eyes still moving]]. ''[[LiterallyShatteredLives Shattering]]'' the wax statue, however, is implied to be fatal.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E04Cure Cure]]": Implied to be the fate of the immortal doctor Knox (An {{Expy}} of ComicBook/VandalSavage).
--->'''Clark''': What'd you do with Knox?\\
'''Martian Manhunter''': Your father and I had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy when it came to crime and punishment. I suggest we abide by the same rules.\\
'''Clark''': You didn't kill him, did you?\\
'''Martian Manhunter''': Knox is immortal, Kal-El. You can't kill him.
** Lana suffered a temporary case of this when Brainiac placed her in an "anesthesia awareness" state during the last few episodes of Season 7. According to what Brainiac told Clark, Lana was fully aware of her surroundings and in a constant state of excruciating pain, but she was also fully paralyzed so that she could do nothing to try to ease her pain or communicate with anybody else in any way. She was left in this condition for over a month until Clark finally defeated Brainiac and freed her. Brainiac could have been claiming this just to emotionally torture Clark as Lana did not seem to be suffering any psychological aftereffects from the experience when she returned as a SpecialGuest the following season.
* AndThenWhat: One could deconstruct Zod's motivation as failing to take this into account, since he doesn't appear to have ''any'' long-term goal other than to take over Earth to turn it into a New Krypton. In fact, the BadFuture seen in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E09Pandora Pandora]]" shows that the Kandorians don't seem to be doing more than spinning their wheels, rounding up humans in slave camps, all while letting the planet fall into a state of disrepair. Behold the ''[[SarcasmMode glorious]]'' New Krypton, folks?!
* ApocalypseAnarchy: Riots break out all over the world when Brainiac unleashes a computer virus which starts shutting down all technology on Earth during the episodes "Vessel" and "Zod".
* ApologisesALot: Pretty much every character is prone to this in the first few seasons, but especially Clark and Lana. Sometimes an "apology duel" occurs, where two characters try to out-apologize each other.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: All over the place.
** A good example is "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E11Legion Legion]]", where despite having spent the last eight years dealing with meteor-infected humans, naturally occurring superheroes, and alien visitors from other worlds... apparently {{time travel}} is considered to be ''too'' ridiculous?! Clark himself had actually time-traveled at least twice ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E18Apocalypse Apocalypse]]") beforehand.
** Jonathan and Martha, the foster parents of a [[HumanAliens human-looking alien]] with physics-defying superpowers, balk at the idea that magic exists.
** Glaringly subverted in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E18Spirit Spirit]]" where a case of BodySurf is {{handwave}}d by Chloe saying "We ''are'' in Smallville."
* ArtifactAlias: Oliver Queen continues using his ComicBook/GreenArrow alias and costume, right down to the voice-changer that gives him a BadassBaritone, even after revealing his identity on national TV at the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E03Supergirl Supergirl]]".
* ArtifactTitle: By Season 8, Clark had left Smallville to join the ''Daily Planet'' in Metropolis (as he obviously had to, sooner or later), though an argument could be made that "Smallville" is now more a reference to Clark himself, via Lois' AffectionateNickname for him. Also, Clark doesn't think of himself as Franchise/{{Superman}} at this point; Seasons 8-10 are about him letting go of his Smallville life to become the man he needs to be. "Smallville" was how he hid in the shadows; "Superman" is when he steps into the light.
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E19Nemesis Nemesis]]", Lana threatened Lionel with the fact that she has power of attorney and is in charge of making his medical decisions. The problem is that not only is Lionel recovering but he is conscious so not only can’t Lana do anything besides creating mild inconveniences but he can revoke the power of attorney.
* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E05Action Action]]", Lionel was stuck in a trap for at least a day that should for all intents and purposes had caused him to lose his hand due to how long he was trapped and how sharp the trap was.
* AscendedExtra: Lois Lane was originally only going to be in 4 episodes, however because of fan demand her number of episodes in season 4 was increased to 13, before becoming PromotionToOpeningTitles and a series regular and main character from season 5 onward.
* AsideGlance: Halfway into the tenth and final season, Clark returns from the dystopian Earth-2, but not without someone tagging along for the ride: Earth-2's Lionel, still alive and well, takes in the sights while a newspaperman tries to fix him in his memory. Creator/JohnGlover buys a paper, looks straight in the camera, and basically says he's pumped for the series finale.
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Clark ''finally'' putting on the iconic Superman suit in "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Finale]]".
* AxesAtSchool:
** The {{Trope Namer|s}}, from the Season 3 episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E11Delete Delete]]" when a {{brainwashed}} Lana attempts to kill Chloe in public in the middle of the school, at one point even resorting to a ''fire axe''. This somehow only led to them getting suspended.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E18Spirit Spirit]]", a [[DemonicPossession possessed]] Chloe uses a fire axe to attack Jonathan and later attempts to burn down the entire school.
* BabyDollBaby: In the episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E19Memoria Memoria]]", Lex is sitting on a high balcony, in the rain, apparently hallucinating that he is rocking his baby brother Julian to sleep. He's singing to the blanket and tells his father to be quiet or he'll wake the baby. He thinks he found the baby inside of his dorm, crying, and told Julian that he'd never let anyone hurt him again.
* BackForTheFinale:
** Creator/MichaelRosenbaum. [[ComicBook/LexLuthor If you seriously wanna know as whom, you're not paying attention]].
** Chloe Sullivan.
** Earth-2 Lionel (Creator/JohnGlover) also came back, and Zod returned for the episode "Dominion."
** Aaron Ashmore reappeared as Jimmy Olsen... the ''real'' Jimmy Olsen.
** Also, Jonathan Kent reappears multiple times in the finale, most notably appearing as a ghost to hand Clark his iconic suit in the Fortress of Solitude.
* BadassBoast:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]" has Alexander (Lex's EnemyWithout) delivers this excellent gem after shooting Jonathan in the leg:
-->'''Alexander:''' You were right about me all along, Mr. Kent. ''[{{beat}}]'' I ''am'' the villain of the story.
** Amusingly, we get one from ''the surgeon'' about to undo life-threatening AND crippling shots to Lex Luthor on Christmas Eve no less, in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E09Lexmas Lexmas]]".
--> "Somebody kill the carols. I'm about to perform a miracle."[[note]]And StatusQuoIsGod ''demands'' that he pull it off![[/note]]
** Brainiac also gets one, although it helps to understand the context. Having been nearly destroyed by Clark in Season 5, it takes him until Season 7 to rebuild FromASingleCell. When [[EvilTwin Bizarro]] finds him halfway through Season 7, he is therefore weak, dying, barely holding himself together, and feeding off of people and animals in order to hold his {{Nanomachines}} in place. When he and Bizarro team up, he proposes that he be the one to kill Clark. Bizarro tells him: "You? You can barely catch a rat." Brainiac responds with the following short, but sweet boast:
--->'''Brainiac:''' I am the [[RoboticPsychopath Brain Inter Active Construct]]. No matter my form, my [[EvilGenius intellect remains formidable]]. Do not underestimate me.
** Doomsday gets one in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E20Beast Beast]]".
--->'''Clark''': I don't wanna hurt you, Davis.\\
'''Davis/Doomsday''': Don't worry. You can't.
** One is delivered by ComicBook/MartianManhunter (whose powers are restored by Doctor Fate) to Icicle during the final battle in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E11E12AbsoluteJustice Absolute Justice]]":
-->'''J'onn''': I'm Mars [[SoleSurvivor last survivor]]. There's a reason for that.
** Major Zod when he delivers his famous line:
--->'''Zod''': Unlike you, I will lead from a throne, not from the shadows. Every human on earth, including the woman you love will KneelBeforeZod!"
** He did an earlier one when he found out one of his soldiers (and lover) turned against him:
--->'''Zod:''' If I ever learned that insurrection had spread across my ranks... If I ever discovered that my men had aligned themselves against me, I would ''raze'' this planet. I would burn it to the ground till the ''last ember went cold beneath my boot!'' Now only ''I'' will lead us to the next age. All will follow Zod.
** Lois gets one in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E19Dominion Dominion]]".
--->'''Lois:''' Being a hero's wife means never accepting defeat.
* BadassFamily:
** The Kents/The Els. You've got [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark]] himself, [[BadassNormal Jonathan]], [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]], Jor-El (who MinoredInAssKicking), and his [[CainAndAbel evil]] brother and MadScientist Zor-El. In Season 9, Martha became TheChessmaster, making the family complete.
** The Luthors are a villainous example. Between [[ManipulativeBastard Lionel]], [[BadassLongcoat Lex]], and [[DarkActionGirl Tess]], they definitely count.
** There is also [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Conner Kent]], who is the clone of Lex and Clark.
* BadassInDistress:
** Clark himself gets into easily as much distress as any other character. He has a more dedicated nemesis than anybody else on the show, a crippling weakness, and any number of people who want to capture him to exploit his powers/study the alien. Chloe and Lois have rescued him several times.
** Several other superheroes are captured and in need of rescue, such as Aquaman and Oliver.
* BadassLongcoat: Clark's costume in Season 9; Lionel and Lex all the time.
* BadFuture: Lois visited one between seasons 8 and 9 in which Major Zod and his Kandorian army conquered Earth. We only [[DreamingOfThingsToCome get glimpses of it via her confused memories]] in season 9, until we finally get see it in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E09Pandora Pandora]]". Most of humanity either dead or enslaved, the Earth turned into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the Kent Farm—aka the homiest, warm and loving place on the show—being used as a gulag by the Kryptonian invaders, Green Arrow was shredded by a literal swarm of Kryptonians, and a very detailed shot of Alia impaling Chloe on a sword.
* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork:
** The end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E01Vortex Vortex]]". Nixon threatens to expose Clark to the world and there's nothing Jonathan can do about it... Lex and a bullet though...
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E17Checkmate Checkmate]]": Both the Justice League and Zod have a bone to pick with [[GovernmentConspiracy Checkmate]]. Oliver and John get captured at different points, although they managed to escape. Chloe is also kidnapped and almost killed in an attempt to blackmail Clark into revealing more about their team. Zod simply comes over to visit and burns down their entire castle base with [[EyeBeams heat vision]].
* BathtubScene:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E10Shimmer Shimmer]]", Lex's girlfriend Victoria is taking a bubble back when she's [[DeadlyBath attacked]] by an invisible assailant who almost drowns her before Clark arrives and rescues her.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E14Persuasion Persuasion]]", Tess is having a relaxing CandlelitBath when Major Zod [[InterruptedBath invades her bathroom]] to catch her in a moment of weakness. She turns the tables on him by [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl acting unperturbed]] and nonchalantly [[SexySurfacingShot climbing out of the tub]] right in front of him [[DefiantStrip to prove she's not intimidated]].
* BatmanGambit:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E09Abyss Abyss]]": Brainiac started [[LaserGuidedMemory removing Chloe's memories]], knowing that in his desperation, Clark would rebuild the [[DeusExMachina Fortress]] to save her, which allows Brainiac to take over the Fortress, fully morph Davis into Doomsday and possess Chloe, which is another gambit as Brainiac knows Clark will never hurt Chloe even with Brainiac inside her.
** The whole episode of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E05Roulette Roulette]]" is one courtesy of Chloe Sullivan, who's revealed to have hired the villain in order to get Oliver to return to heroism and did it right under Clark's nose. Like all things involving Oliver, it is of rather dubious morality. She claims [[IDidWhatIHadToDo she did what she had to do]], and for the most part she anticipated Oliver's actions, but with [[PhysicalGod Clark]] involved but not knowing the plan, it could [[GoneHorriblyWrong go horribly wrong]] very easily.
** Amanda Waller pulls off one in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E11E12AbsoluteJustice Absolute Justice]]". It looks like she's having the members of the long-retired ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica killed as a continuation of the government frame that originally put them out of business. Reality is she's provoking the surviving JSA members to come out of retirement to get back in the game, and meet and inspire the new generation of superheroes, because of something coming that will cause the planet to need all of its heroes.
* BattleInTheRain: Clark vs. Zod in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E22Salvation Salvation]]".
* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: The three main females characters: DudeMagnet Lana (beauty), SmartGirl Chloe (brain) and MilitaryBrat Lois (brawn).
* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Jor-El's favorite trope, apparently, everything he does is to ensure Clark becomes the destined champion and savior of Earth, as Superman.
* BehindTheBlack: Apparently [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] only affects Clark when he can see it.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Soon after Lois joined the story, there was extremely heavy {{UST}} between Lois and Clark, starting with a NakedFirstImpression, and continuing throughout the middle seasons of the show. They were both clearly attracted to each other, but Lois's big-city girl personality would often clash with Clark's small-town guy and they would often get into arguments or antagonize each other.
* BeneficialDisease: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E08Ryan Ryan]]", the titular character has a brain tumor that gives him {{telepathy}}. It's revealed to be fatal, however, and they are unable to reach an expert who could possibly save him before it's too late.
* BetrayalInsurance: Chloe has (or had) caches of Kryptonite stashed around the world. It is not clearly stated if it is for the Kandorians or Clark, but Clark is understandably upset when he finds out.
* BigBad: Several, with most of the season's forming a BigBadEnsemble.
** Season 1 to 3 has Lionel Luthor as the overarching antagonist, although other secondary antagonists, like reporter [[{{Paparazzi}} Roger Nixon]], [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Kal]] and [[GoodIsNotNice Jor-El]] also took a stab at this role in each season respectively.
** Season 4: [[EvilMatriarch Genevieve Teague]], with her son Jason as TheDragon and [[WickedWitch Margaret Isobel Thoreaux]] as her [[BigBadEnsemble archrival]].
** Season 5: [[RoboticPsychopath Brainiac]] with [[SealedEvilInACan General Zod]] as the GreaterScopeVillain he was seeking to unleash.
** Season 6: ComicBook/LexLuthor. Yeah. the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Zoners]] are out there, and [[EvilTwin Bizzarro]]'s waiting in the wings, but Lex is TheHeavy for the season, and is behind almost every problem in series.
** Season 7: Lex and Brainiac form a BigBadDuumvirate.
** Season 8: The most complicated season, with a huge BigBadEnsemble, including [[TheBaroness Tess Mercer]], [[TheManBehindTheMan Faora]], [[EvilCripple Lex]], and DiscOneFinalBoss [[OmnicidalManiac Brainiac]] all vying for the role. All of them have their own agendas, and the [[{{Chessmaster}} complicated plans]] to back it up. Yet when [[EvilerThanThou the smoke clears]] it's SerialKiller and {{Antihero}} [[DrivenToVillainy Davis Bloome]] and his SuperpoweredEvilSide [[PersonOfMassDestruction Doomsday]] who step up to the plate as TheHeavy, providing most of the drama in the season's latter half, and serving as the FinalBoss to boot.
** Season 9: [[MajorlyAwesome Major Zod]] and his cloned Kandorian army, with [[MisanthropeSupreme Tess]] as a sometimes ally, and [[GovernmentConspiracy Checkmate]] trying to stop him.
** Season 10: {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}, with [[CoDragons Granny Goodness, Desaad, and Glorious Godfrey]] doing his dirty work. Rick Flag, Alexander, Earth-2 Lionel, and the real Lex are all competing for the title, but compared to [[UltimateEvil Darkseid]]'s ominous presence they just don't cut it.
** The Season 11 continuation comics have Lex back and causing trouble again on a mostly regular basis, but also have a story arc dealing with the larger threat of [[ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis the]] [[ComicBook/FinalCrisis Monitors]], who seek to impose order by [[OmnicidalManiac destroying all life]] and have already succeeded with Earth-2.
** The parallel-universe Lionel Luthor will seem to be even more evil and dangerous than his counterpart in the "original" universe was before he was changed by Jor-El.
* BigBadFriend: This describes Lex Luthor for the first four seasons and intermittently afterward. Notable in that this isn't presented as a twist, but as a continuing theme throughout the series — he legitimately likes the protagonists, he just sees their demands that he stop digging up their secrets as a requirement to tell them he's stopped in the interest of courtesy (rather than a moral need to actually stop).
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: The first person to die of chronic kryptonite exposure was a black guy. So was the second, for that matter.
* BlindIdiotTranslation: The first few seasons of the show in Hungarian were shockingly badly translated. The official dubbing script was a shoddy {{Fansub}} that the translator got a hold of. Besides the amateurish translation work (that often left out plot-important details to boot), the dub also had some spelling goof-ups. The most infamous incident was the word "takarodó" (curfew) being misspoken as "takaród" (your blanket).
* BlingOfWar: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E09Rogue Rogue]]", Lex shows Clark a breastplate that once belonged to Alexander the Great. In addition to [[MythologyGag looking strikingly like Superman's costume]], it's made out of gold and crusted all over with sapphires and rubies.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead:
** Chloe, Lois, and Tess, respectively.
** Also, the Kent family, with Jonathan, Clark, and Martha.
* BloodSplatteredWeddingDress: Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E10Bride Bride]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E11Legion Legion]]" after Doomsday attacks her wedding and it becomes a component of strong horror when she is [[DemonicPossession possessed by Brainiac]].
* BodySurf: Possession is one of the most common {{Plot Device}}s in ''Smallville'', with various antagonists, minor and major, being able to [[DemonicPossession possess]] or take control of other bodies, sometimes hopping from body to body during the course of an episode. Most of the main characters have been possessed multiple times by different beings.
** Kryptonian, in general, are able to possess other bodies, which they refer to as a "vessel". This usually requires [[RaisedAsAHost some sort of preparation ahead of time]], often done by a third party. They usually are [[NewBodyOldAbilities able to use their Kryptonian powers]] even while possessing another body.
** Jor-El managed to make both Lionel (via being exposed to the Crystal of Water) and Jonathan (via a [[DealWithTheDevil pact]]) as his vessels, and would often possess them for short periods of time to assist Clark.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E18Spirit Spirit]]" has AlphaBitch Dawn Stiles drives her car into a gorge which contained meteor rocks. She was put into a coma, but acquired the ability to travel out of her body and to transfer her spirit into other people through physical touch and ended up possessing the bodies of Lana, Martha, Lois, Chloe, and Clark.
** The witches in season 4 are capable of possessing people via magic, with Lana becoming the vessel of [[FamilialBodySnatcher of her ancestress]] Countess Isobel after touching her tomb, which allowed Isobel to possess Lana seemingly at will. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E08Spell Spell]]", Isobel (possessing Lana) uses her magic that allows the spirits of her fellow witches to possess Lois and Chloe. After Clark destroyed Isobel's spellbook, the possessions were all lifted. However, Isobel still had power over Lana and would resume to possess her in later episodes, until she finally exacted her revenge on her ArchEnemy descendant and her spirit was finally laid to rest.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E14Tomb Tomb]]", Chloe becomes possessed by a teenager named Gretchen Winters after touching the kryptonite bracelet Gretchen was wearing the day she was murdered and Gretchen uses Chloe body to track down her killer. Once she finds him, Gretchen is able to transfer her spirit into him, when he touches the bracelet and then [[KillTheHostBody commits suicide with possessing him]] to enact her revenge, freeing her spirit.
** Possessing another body is the most common way for criminals trapped in the Phantom Zone to escape, usually giving their host [[NewBodyOldAbilities all the powers they previously had]] and leaving them with no memories about the time they spent possessed:
*** In Season Five, Brainiac prepares Lex Luthor to become a vessel for General Zod, which came to happen in the season 5 finale but Clark managed to return General Zod to the Phantom Zone using the Crystal of El, and Lex's possession is lifted, leaving him with no memories of his time as Zod.
*** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E06Fallout Fallout]], a phantom wraith named Baern possesses a human naked Lamar for several weeks, before being found by Clark and being sent back to the Phantom Zone, with his host left unharmed, but with no memories of the time he was possessed.
*** Bizarro had to hop from person to person, [[PossessionBurnout wearing each body out as he went]]. When he attempted to possess Clark, it resulted in the creation of a new, cloned body and he became Clark's EvilTwin instead and sought to KillAndReplace Clark.
*** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E08Bloodline Bloodline]]", Faora escapes the Phantom Zone by possessing Lois, but Kara eventually manages to cast Faora out of Lois' body.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E16Escape Escape]]" has the Silver Banshee as the MonsterOfTheWeek, an evil spirit that can possess other women that was released after Lois accidentally damaged her painting. Burning the painting banishes her back into the afterlife.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E05Isis Isis]]", the [[CursedItem cursed Amulet of Isis]] has Isis's soul [[SoulJar trapped in it]] and if a person wears it and makes contact with the sunlight it allows Isis to possess the person, which in this episode turn out to be Lois.
** Season 10 BigBad {{ComicBook/Darkseid}} can possess any host that can't control the darkness in their heart.
* BookEnds:
** An almost perfect example--in the "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E01Pilot Pilot]]" episode, Lex rescues Clark from a prank of being strung up on a scarecrow post in the middle of a field. In the first episode of the last season, the Old Lex clone ties Lois up on the same post as bait for his and Clark's TheLastDance. The clone actually [[LampshadeHanging comments]] on this to both of them.
** Also both the Season 1 premiere and finale feature a school dance and a natural disaster (though how natural the meteor shower was depends on how you look at it).
** The GrandFinale. It starts with Chloe reading a ''Smallville'' comic book to her son, and not counting the obligatory final scene of Superman going off the save the world, it ended with her finishing the story and tucking him into bed.
* BoundAndGagged: This occurs often, especially to Lana and Clark, but the show seems to like convenient unconsciousness better. Plus, the bad guys usually need the captive to talk so the gagged part is rarer. PlayedStraight with Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E17Checkmate Checkmate]]", and Clark rescues her in an epic BulletTime StopMotionLighting scene.
* BoysLikeCreepyCritters: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E02Metamorphosis Metamorphosis]]", the MonsterOfTheWeek boy who was into bugs. His mother didn't know what he could do with such a hobby; apparently she's never heard of entomology.
* {{Brainwashed}}: Several villains have MindManipulation powers that are able to leave other characters BrainwashedAndCrazy, NotHimself or enslaved to their will.
** Jor-El is likely the most notable example, having brainwashed an innocent human girl into believing she was a Kryptonian, giving her new memories, Kryptonian-like abilities, and longevity, all so he could manipulate Clark. He also ends up doing it to Clark himself at the end of season 3, re-programming as Kal-El of Krypton, [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood a more obedient version of Clark who fully embraces his destiny]], although it doesn't stick past the first episode of season 4.
** Moira Sullivan's MindControl powers leave the person in a brainwashed state, she doesn't fully control them, only gives them orders. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E01Odyssey Odyssey]]", Moira's abilities have been [[AppliedPhlebotinum manufactured into a serum]] that briefly leaves the person brainwashed.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]" has the MonsterOfTheWeek using her LivingAphrodisiac powers to enslave men to her will.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E07Magnetic Magnetic]]", the MonsterOfTheWeek uses his MagnetismManipulation to leave Lana BrainwashedAndCrazy.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E11Delete Delete]]" has Clark, Lana, Martha and Jonathan being brainwashed by the MonsterOfTheWeek's hypnotic e-mails and they all become BrainwashedAndCrazy and attempt to murder Chloe violently.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E16Hypnotic Hypnotic]]" has the MonsterOfTheWeek using a hypnotic gem to leave people under her thrall.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E14Persuasion Persuasion]]," Clark accidentally brainwashed Lois when he unknowingly becomes infected by gemstone kryptonite, which gives wish-fulfilling properties.
** Brainiac 5 inverts the BrainwashedAndCrazy part, as he's is quite sane and nice after he is reprogrammed.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Earth-2 Lionel Luthor gives us this:
-->''"I'm from [[AlternateUniverse out of town]]. Unexpected visit. But I guess I'm back in the nick of time. Wouldn't want to miss how it all turns out."''
* BrickJoke:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E18Fragile Fragile]]", Clark hopes to relate to the young budding artist and meteor freak of the week Maddie through her art -- but he's a TerribleArtist. At the end of the episode, it's revealed that Maddie took Clark's drawing and did her best to improve on it.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E05Committed Committed]]", after Clark and Lois find the KinkyCuffs presumably prepared by Jimmy, [[IGaveMyWord Macy keeps his word]] and frees Jimmy and Chloe when they pass his test. [[OhCrap Then Chloe realizes it's not over...]] when she sees ''the handcuffs.''
* BrokenAesop:
** At the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E11Unsafe Unsafe]]", Martha lectures Clark on using better judgment about something he did ''while he was on red kryptonite'', which impairs his judgment. Characters in the show are pretty consistently forgiven for things they did while they [[NotHimself weren't themselves]], including at the beginning of Season 3 when Clark comes home after a much longer bout with red kryptonite in Metropolis ''during which he was committing serious crimes''. And for all of that he was on red kryptonite voluntarily, whereas in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E11Unsafe Unsafe]]", Alicia gives it to him without his knowledge.
** The moral of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]" seems to be that if you use women like a paper towel, it will come back to haunt you, even if you're rich. Problem is, it's not what plays out in the show; the women were shown to be perfectly willing parties, with the victim being the one who initiated the relationship. The episode seems to completely ignore that given Lex’s past relationships with women, it is perfectly understandable why he would opt for meaningless flings, but of the only two women who had a problem with this, the murderer and her victim both proved to be completely insane. The victim coming across as a stalker and the murderer trying to invoke NeverMyFault.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Clark's female companions/{{love interest}}s tend to play this role to his brooding boy on his bad days: Lana, Chloe, and Lois have all played this role at various times, and Lois ends up being the one who helps him move out of his formerly brooding ways completely by the end.
* BroughtDownToBadass:
** Clark is still badass even after being [[DePower depowered]]. When a Kandorian woman brings [[PowerLimiter blue Kryptonite]] with her and tries to kill him. Clark defends himself quite handily, even though he hasn't had the military combat training his opponent had.
** Zod and his Kandorian army are still skilled combatants even though they don't have their powers for most of their screentime.
* BroughtDownToNormal:
** Clark ends up losing his powers several times through the course of the show. [[StatusQuoIsGod It never sticks]]. The longer it stuck was for three episodes, longer than it's ever stuck in a Superman series outside of the comics.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E12Leech Leech]]": A kid accidentally leeches Clark's power with [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] and [[LightningCanDoAnything lightning]] and it's reversed in a similar manner
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E09Asylum Asylum]]": The ''same kid'' now purposely leeches off Clark's power with [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere more Kryptonite]] and a power generator and once again it's reversed via the same method.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E05Perry Perry]]": PlayedWith, as a solar flare causes PowerIncontinence in Clark that leaves him powerless half the time, and even stronger the other half.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E08Spell Spell]]": Isobel and her witch coven use their magic to DePower Clark. He gets them back in the same episode when he touches the Crystal of Fire.
*** At the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E01Arrival Arrival]]", Jor-El [[DePower takes away Clark's powers]] athe end of the episode, as a result of Clark disobeyed Jor-El's orders to return to the Fortress before sundown. "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E02Mortal Mortal]]" has Clark spend the entire episode without his powers, [[IJustWantToBeNormal happy to pursue a normal life]] without a "Kryptonian destiny" and he still [[BroughtDownToBadass manages to save the day without his powers]]. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E03Hidden Hidden]]" Clark's is fatally wounded, but Jor-El brings him BackFromTheDead with all his powers, but at the price of having [[BalancingDeathsBooks the life force of someone close to him in exchange]]. Clark is less than pleased.
*** Clark is powerless during his time in the Phantom Zone, in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E01Zod Zod]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E08Bloodline Bloodline]]" and [[Recap/SmallvilleS10E19Dominion Dominion]], but his powers return after he escapes.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E12Labyrinth Labyrinth]]": PlayedWith, Clark gets trapped in a LotusEaterMachine where he's made to believe he lost his powers.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E08Blue Blue]]": Clark is tricked into putting on a Blue Kryptonite ring that acts as a PowerLimiter and they don't return until he manages to destroy it.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E01Odyssey Odyssey]]": Clark loses his powers when Lex places the Orb laced with blue kryptonite in the Fortress of Solitude console. They get restored when Comicbook/MartianManhunter flies him into the heart of the yellow sun.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E21Injustice Injustice]]": [[PowerParasite Parasite]] steals Clark's powers with a single touch. But he also gains Clark's weakness for Kryptonite, so he's easily defeated and returns Clark's powers.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E09Pandora Pandora]]": In the BadFuture, Clark due to Zod's Solar tower that turns the yellow sun into a red sun.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E06Harvest Harvest]]": Clark's powers are temporarily suppressed under the low-level radiation of [[PowerLimiter blue kryptonite]] that resides in the bodies of Metropolis' citizens due to their water supply being infected by blue kryptonite.
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E20Prophecy Prophecy]]": As a trial, Jor-El [[DePower takes away Clark's powers]] and transfers them to Lois for a whole day.
** Comicbook/MartianManhunter was stuck without powers till Comicbook/DoctorFate was able to restore his abilities.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E17Rosetta Rosetta]]", Clark meets Virgil Swann and discovers his Kryptonian heritage, it's made clear the "S" is the Kryptonian symbol for "hope". When Clark finally starts using the shield for a calling card (as The Blur) in later seasons, and in season 9 starts wearing a silver version on a black uniform, it therefore sort of counts as [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS Brought To You By The Letter Hope]].
** When Lois Lane is briefly the superhero "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E19Stiletto Stiletto]]", she mentioned wanting to sew an "S" on her chest but [[LampshadeHanging thinks it is too tacky]].
* BuffySpeak:
** "Bug bites boy, and boy becomes bug boy!"
** When Jimmy Olsen discovers Clark's secret:
-->'''Jimmy:''' You're some kind of super... [[BaitAndSwitch guy!]]
* BulletCatch: Clark uses his powers to stop bullets every other episode, usually using his strength and speed to stop bullets and sometimes [[ShootTheBullet using his heat vision to destroy the bullets mid-flight]]. It only failed once, when his attacker was [[AbnormalAmmo using Kryptonite bullets]].
* BulletTime: The "Clark time" when Clark goes into SuperSpeed mode.
* BullyingADragon: In the episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E09Rogue Rogue]]", a DirtyCop who sees Clark using his powers uses that knowledge to blackmail him. Sure, Clark's ThouShaltNotKill philosophy prevents him from easily killing the guy with said powers, but he doesn't know that. All he knows is that Clark is tough enough to stop an out-of-control bus by stepping in front of it and strong enough to toss a generator across a room like a wad of paper. And yet, he keeps on provoking him and even threatening his family. KarmicDeath took care of him.
* BuriedAlive
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E04XRay X-Ray]]", PsychoLesbian Tina Greer does this to Lana. Clark frees her after she passes out.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E20Obscura Obscura]]", Chloe is also buried alive, but Clark manages to rescue her. She is later shown to be traumatized by the event. The man who did it was a cop who wanted the credit of finding her. Whether he would have done so before or after she died is unclear.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E20Fade Fade]]", after Graham incapacitates Clark with Kryptonite, he buries him with it leaving him to die, but Chloe and Lois rescue him.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E06Harvest Harvest]]", an angry mob of crazed villagers do this to Clark, who has lost his powers from blue kryptonite exposure. Fortunately, the soil shields him enough from the kryptonite to give him back some of his strength, allowing him to break free.
* TheBusCameBack: Pete Ross returned for one episode in Season 7, and Lana returned partway through Season 8 for a small story arc. Kara in Season 8's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E08Bloodline Bloodline]]" and Season 10's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E03Supergirl Supergirl]]". Season 10 had practically ''every'' major character who had departed the show BackForTheFinale during the season. Notably, Pete and Lana were the only living characters not to return during the season, whilst any other characters who didn't come back had been KilledOffForReal. Not that being dead managed to stop Jonathan, Lionel, and Lex from returning in some capacity.
* BusmansHoliday: Clark, Lois, Oliver, and Chloe all choose the Bed & Breakfast [[AllMythsAreTrue with the legend about a woman who felt so betrayed that she made a deal with the underworld and was allowed to walk among the living again to kill any man who crosses her path]].
* ButNowIMustGo:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E11Justice Justice]]" (in an awesome closing scene), "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]"
** Episodes that introduce a SuperHero from Franchise/TheDCU end with this--"[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E05Run Run]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E04Aqua Aqua]]", and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E15Cyborg Cyborg]]".
%%** And in Season 10, Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E15Fortune Fortune]]".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:C to D]]
* CainAndAbel:
** In Season 7, Lex ends up creating his own CainAndAbel, when it's revealed he made Grant Gabriel as a clone of his dead baby brother. When Grant discovers this, he becomes very angry and hateful of Lex. Grant tries to form a familial relationship with their father Lionel against Lex's wishes. So Lex hires a hitman to gun him down. Then Lex goes outside to [[SkywardScream scream in the rain]].
** ''Smallville'' also has Zor-El, Kara's father, who is antagonistic towards his brother Jor-El because of his love for Jor-El's wife Lara.
** Lex and Clark have been billed as being in a Cain-and-Abel relationship since the very first episode, it seems. On Earth-2, Clark was adopted by Lionel Luthor and it didn't end well for Lex. And Lionel is OK with that because he [[TheSocialDarwinist believes in social Darwinism]]. However, Lionel was furious that his adoptive son hadn't killed him yet, as should be expected. After coming to "our" universe, he soon began to miss his son and planned to revive "our" Lex. Which he did.
** Lex ultimately ends up the Cain to yet another sibling: younger half-sister Tess Mercer, who he murders in the GrandFinale. His reasoning is that it's a version of a MercyKill so that she doesn't end up [[CardCarryingVillain like him]], but few people buy that; he almost definitely killed her so that she was out of his way, since at the time she had control of [=LuthorCorp=].
* CaliforniaUniversity: ''Smallville'' almost did this. Clark and Lana were supposed to be attending the fictional Central Kansas A&M, which was close to Smallville. But then Clark discovered that his professor was a super-powered alien robot from another galaxy bent on world domination, which derailed his studies. He dropped out, ostensibly temporarily, but then the whole college storyline was just quietly forgotten, and Clark somehow managed to become a newspaper reporter with a half-semester of education under his belt. ...So really, this is a near-miss trope.
* CallBack:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E09Asylum Asylum]]" has several past villains reappear when the action enters Belle Reve.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]", Alexander and Lionel's fencing match echoes the one between Lex and Lionel in Season 1's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E03Hothead Hothead]]".
** Near the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E20Ageless Ageless]]", when Evan tells Clark he's lucky he was found by him, Clark replies "I don't think we found you; I think you found us," echoing Martha's words to Jonathan in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E01Pilot Pilot]]" after they found Kal-El.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E11Justice Justice]]":
*** Lex and Oliver refer to the time they shot each other in the chest in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E07Rage Rage]]".
*** Bart continues to flirt with Chloe from "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E05Run Run]]", although this time she maintains that she already has a boyfriend. Clark tells him to knock it off just like last time.
*** Clark mentions twice to Oliver that he needs to take care of a problem he caused, referring to the release of several Phantom Zone prisoners.
*** When Victor and AC walk out to reveal themselves in Oliver's clock tower, Victor says to Chloe, "I guess we're not that good at the whole secret part of this yet," to which she responds "Yeah, but you're great at getting caught by the villian". Both Victor and AC did indeed get caught by Lex and needed to be rescued by Clark in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E15Cyborg Cyborg]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E04Aqua Aqua]]".
*** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E16Scion Scion]]", while confronting Conner (who's on [[GRatedDrug Red Kryptonite]]), Clark tells him "You're coming home with me," the exact same words that Jonathan said to him in the final scene of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E01Exile Exile]]" while he was on Red Kryptonite.
* CallForward: As mentioned elsewhere, this happens constantly and in spades. Though it comes up rather [[{{Prequel}} naturally]]. Properly the most notable one is Clark becoming Superman, [[OfficialCouple Lois and Clark hooking up]], and [[StartOfDarkness Lex becoming the villain]]. However, there were twists that did come out of nowhere, such as [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Conner Kent]] in ''Season 10'' and Jonathan Kent dying in ''Season 5'' but do occur if you have seen the right clue.
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Jor-El knows more than where Clark lives. He is perfectly fine in (usually indirectly) harming his loved ones if it drives him to fulfill his destiny. Like freezing Chloe half to death]] in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E01Arrival Arrival]]" and intending to trap Clark in the Fortress until ''everyone he loves is dead'' in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E09Gemini Gemini]]".
* CanonCharacterAllAlong: ZigZaggingTrope with Chloe Sullivan who, when she writes her first piece for the ''Daily Planet'', uses her cousin's Lois Lane's name as her ''nom de plume'' - setting up that Chloe is the ''Smallville''-verse Lois. But later in the series Lois proper shows up. Chloe does become that universe's analogue of ComicBook/{{Oracle}}.
* CanonImmigrant:
** At Comic-Con 2010, [[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/comics/news/a250561/chloe-sullivan-comes-to-comics.html it was announced]] that Chloe Sullivan had become part of the [[Franchise/{{Superman}} official DC Superman comics]].
** Played straight with Lionel Luthor, who is now canonically Lex's father. Lionel, and Creator/JohnGlover's portrayal of him, resonated so well that he [[BreakoutVillain was written into the comics]] as Lex's canonical (and deceased) father. While Lex had obviously always had a (deceased by the time of the "present-day") father, this character had never had a consistent name or physical appearance and usually had no importance. But ever since ''Smallville'', Lex's father is explicitly named "Lionel Luthor" and flashback scenes have depicted him as looking very similar to the actor. A zombified, Black Lantern version of Lionel even showed up for revenge against Lex in ''Comicbook/BlackestNight''.
** Besides characters, various elements from ''Smallville'' that have made their way into the comics include the ''Smallville'' version of Comicbook/GreenArrow's costume which--as of the Comicbook/{{New 52}}--is now Ollie's official costume. Also, Oliver's clean-shaven appearance from ''Smallville'' has made its way into the comics as of the Comicbook/{{New 52}} (these last two changes can be attributed to the fact that ''Smallville'''s version of Ollie is probably the best-known version to the general public). Also the idea of ComicBook/LexLuthor spending time in Smallville during Clark's teenage years--though originally an idea from the Silver Age ''Superboy'' comic books that was retconned away at the start of the Post-Crisis era--was brought back into continuity largely thanks to ''Smallville''. And more, Ma and Pa Kent in the comics have started to look like older versions of Creator/AnnetteOToole and Creator/JohnSchneider, even though it often [[DependingOnTheArtist depends on the artist]].
** As of Creator/GeoffJohns's ComicBook/SupermanSecretOrigin miniseries, ''Smallville'''s idea of a young Clark learning how to use his powers while secretly defending the citizens of Smallville from meteor freaks is now officially part of Superman's backstory in the comics.
** Black Kryptonite and its LiteralSplitPersonality properties first appeared on ''Smallville'' and rather quickly made it's way into the comics, most notably appearing in Jeph Loeb's run on [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Supergirl]].
* CapeBusters:
** [=LuthorCorp=]'s "Level 3/ Project 33.1" is an ongoing effort started by Lex to produce SuperSoldiers to defend humanity from Meteor Freaks and aliens, and incidentally to help Lex secure his power base.
** Season 9 introduced ComicBook/{{Checkmate}} who wanted all the metahumans either dead or under the control of the US government.
** Season 10 introduced the ''Smallville'' version of ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} as an army colonel who wanted to use the [[SuperRegistrationAct Vigilante Registration Act]] as a justification to capture and experiment on metahumans.
* CaptainErsatz: The show has Captain Ersatzes for a shockingly-large number of DC characters. Ironically several of them would actually be introduced in the season 11 comics.
** Pete Ross ended up becoming a CaptainErsatz of ComicBook/PlasticMan (or Comicbook/JimmyOlsen as Elastic Lad)
** Adam Knight is one to a young [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]], due to his status as an orphan who shows skills in diverse areas as martial arts and computer hacking and has an emotionally distant personality.
** Gloria in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E03Wither Wither]]" was one to ComicBook/PoisonIvy, with [[TheVamp her talent for seduction]], [[GreenThumb control over plants]] and overall valuing vegetation over human life.
** Vordigan is one to Merlyn, as ComicBook/GreenArrow's EvilMentor who both go under the tile of "[[RedBaron the Dark Archer]]".
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E13Warrior Warrior]]":
*** Lois is shown {{cosplay}}ing as [[ShowWithinAShow an in-universe]] Captain Ersatz of Franchise/WonderWoman.
*** That same episode has a boy transformed by a magic comic book into [[ShowWithinAShow Warrior Angel]]. Whereas Warrior Angel was always an {{Expy}} of Superman (with his nemesis Devilicus as an {{Expy}} for Lex), this "Warrior Angel" was a clear one of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]].
* CartwrightCurse: Clark's TemporaryLoveInterest Kyla and Alicia both died after being involved with him.
* CassandraTruth:
** Several people [[DeathBySecretIdentity who know Clark's secret have been committed to a mental hospital]], and so their claims aren't believed. Pete also once tried to expose Clark but predictably failed.
** Lex's story of being possessed by an alien warlord is also ridiculed.
* CataclysmClimax:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E21Tempest Tempest]]": The season 1 finale has a tornado hits Smallville.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E22Commencement Commencement]]": The season 4 finale has another meteor shower hitting the town.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E22Vessel Vessel]]": The Season 5 finale has Brainiac unleashing a computer virus that causes all technology on Earth to shut down, causing mass hysteria.
* CelebrityStar: The show had a lot of musical guests. Whenever Creator/TheWB has a new album being released by a big or up and coming music group, that group will always end up in Smallville for a show, no matter how much of a stretch or departure from the main plot it is.
* CharacterDevelopment:
** Clark and Lex start as friends, but fall apart as Clark grows into a superhero and Lex into a supervillain.
** Likewise, Clark and Lois, who [[BelligerentSexualTension initially found each other's company difficult]], grow closer as they both discover their journalistic callings and shared passion for justice.
** Lana changes from DamselInDistress to ActionGirl in the very later seasons. Of course, it's not always consistent.
** Chloe is an outstanding example of CharacterDevelopment. In the early seasons, she was rash, impulsive, and always eager to expose the truth about everything. When she got [[ClingyJealousGirl extremely jealous of Clark and Lana's relationship]], she made an ill-advised deal with Lionel to spy on him as {{revenge}}, though she quickly regretted it. A year-long BreakTheCutie StoryArc and a ton of character growth in Season 3 made Chloe become more mature as time went on. Season 4 opened with Chloe and her father living in hiding as part of the fallout of her actions a year earlier. Eventually, they were able to come out of hiding. By the time Chloe learned Clark's secret in mid-Season 4, she had matured to the point where she told no one, not even telling Clark himself that she knew, choosing to allow him to tell her when he was ready. In Season 5, once Clark knew she had discovered his secret, she became a valuable sidekick and helped him save the day on many occasions.
** Lionel, too. At the beginning of the series, he was TheChessMaster and Season 3 featured him as the show's true villain, while Lex during these seasons was a somewhat dark but generally good man. By the time both Luthors exited the show in Season 7, Lex had transitioned all the way to TheDarkSide, while Lionel had been redeemed by Clark.
** Cat Grant (the one introduced in Season 10, not Season 9) went through this as well, as she comes to appreciate The Blur in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E18Booster Booster]]".
* CharacterShilling: Lana spent the first several years of the show's run being [[DudeMagnet the girl everyone was in love with]]; she was [[HopelessSuitor Clark's long-term hopeless crush]], the [[LustObject object of several villain's twisted affection]] (so that Clark [[DamselInDistress could rescue her every week or so]]), and everyone else's bestest friend. All of the praise heaped upon the character couldn't hide the fact that she really wasn't all that amazing and would often indulge in petty behavior and she started coming off as the CreatorsPet or even TheScrappy to a portion of the fanbase.
* CharacterTitle: The OneWordTitle episode names frequently refer to a key character in the episode, either [[AntagonistTitle the villain]] or the SpecialGuest character.
* ChekhovsGun: Plenty throughout the series run:
** The Kryptonian device put in the time capsule in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E03Fierce Fierce]]", would later becomes an important PlotDevice in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E10Persona Persona]]".
** Pamela Jenkins, a former nanny of Lex's who made a single appearance in the season 1 episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E19Crush Crush]]", is revealed in Season ''10'' to be Tess Mercer's biological mother.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E11Icarus Icarus]]", Lois escapes from Slade's soldiers in the ''Daily Planet'' building by using the escape tube in Tess' office, which was established as existing a season earlier.
* TheCheerleader: Lana Lang was a cheerleader in school and fits the AllGuysWantCheerleaders part of it due to her status as a DudeMagnet, but she eventually quit to 'find her own identity'. The cheerleaders overall were not depicted as malicious or dangerous until much later, and then only in the single episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E04Devoted Devoted]]". Lana's desire to leave the cheerleading squad had nothing to do with the squad's malevolence and was instead related to her stopping in her attempt to follow her mother's footsteps (which was the reason she joined the squad). Though of course this ''itself'' is an example of the trope in that apparently no protagonist should ''want'' to be a cheerleader.
* CheshireCatGrin: Tess is REALLY good at doing this. Whenever she's plotting something, or something she plotted has come through, she'll pull one of these. Somewhat subverted, in that she does have a genuine smile she can use when happy, and her intentions are always for the greater good, but when plotting, her smile can be downright scary.
* ChessMotifs: Checkmate, an agency introduced in Season 9 that attempts to weaponize superpowered beings, uses chess terms and puns. Their leaders are codenamed "White Queen" and "Black King", {{Mooks}} are called pawns, etc. Their base even has black and white squares all over the place.
* ChickMagnet
** Clark Kent attracts several girls during the course of the show due to his [[{{Hunk}} good looks]] and [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan good-natured personality]]. From main characters like Chloe, Lana, Lois and Tess, to minor characters like Zatanna, Maxima, Vala, Alicia and Kyla. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E15Infamous Infamous]]", he becomes a celebrity InUniverse and gains his share of [[CelebCrush crazy fangirls]]. Due to his low self-esteem, he [[CluelessChickMagnet never seems to notice it]].
** Lex and Oliver are both charming and witty guys that frequently act like TheCasanova and attract several beautiful women.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance:
** Clark and Lana had been classmates since childhood, with Clark harboring a crush on her. Eventually, they hook up but they ultimately don't work out.
** Chloe Sullivan was one of Clark's closest friends since the eighth grade and has a crush on him, though she eventually matures out of it, similar to how Clark himself grew out of his former crush on Lana.
* ChristmasEpisode:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E09Lexmas Lexmas]]" centered on Lex's "perfect" dream in which he is married with Lana, with a young boy and expecting a girl, and Clark is with Chloe. He gives up the senator race but wins the Humanitarian award of the year, and is on excellent terms with everyone except Lionel, but who cares? At least, not until the dreaded DreamApocalypse...
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E09Gemini Gemini]]" also takes place around Christmas, but the festival tones are much less prevalent. [[TwistedChristmas Other than the bit with the secret Santa putting a bomb in Chloe's handbag...]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder
** ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, unless you are Zod, working with him ''will'' end up with you getting backstabbed.
** During season 8, Chloe successfully manages to stab Clark, Jimmy (her fiance and then husband), and villain Davis in the back almost simultaneously. Then in Season 9, she implements Orwellian measures against Clark's will, ostensibly to "protect Metropolis." This includes putting up cameras in Clark's house and casually mentioning that she spends large chunks of the day surfing through everyone in Metropolis's cell phone conversations.
** Tess Mercer. By season 9, there's really no reason for anyone on any side to believe anything she says. She manages to go the entirety of Season 10 on the [[HeelFaceTurn Face]] side of things without actively betraying anyone. The other characters are aware that she is this trope, though, because whenever something bad happens, they accuse her of turning on them.
--->'''Chloe:''' At this rate, you're gonna run out of people to betray.
* TheCityNarrows: The seedy part of Metropolis is called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Suicide Slums]].
* CivvieSpandex
** The nascent Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} members dress in either casual clothes with CoolShades and hoodies that make them look like the League of Unabombers, or color-coded sports gear. Clark always did his thing in red-and-blue [[NotWearingTights civvies]], until season 9 when he adopted "The Blur" persona.
** ComicBook/BlackCanary's look is pretty close to the comic version save shorter hair and facepaint shaped like a domino mask, though the fact that her costume consists of a rather {{Stripperiffic}} outfit with [[StockingFiller fishnets]] is most likely the cause.
** ComicBook/GreenArrow goes full-out in this mode in the Season 10 episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E13Beacon Beacon]]". Wisely, because at that point both his civilian AND his superhero identity were among the most-wanted by the [[SuperRegistrationAct Vigilante Registration Act]] officers. He adopts a basic hoodie in order to fight crime (as well as just to set foot outdoors in general).
* In the Season 2 finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Roy Harper's "costume" is a red hoodie and DominoMask. He begins wearing a proper, comic-accurate costume as Arsenal in Season 3.
* ClarkKenting:
** The show is defined by its "No Tights, No Flights" rule, so strictly speaking, there’s no "Superman" identity. In the appropriately-named "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E07Identity Identity]]", Jimmy Olsen accidentally catches Clark saving him and Lois on camera, but Clark is moving too quickly to be seen clearly. Chloe encourages him to adopt a superhero identity, the "Red-Blue Blur, as that’s all anyone could see. Clark uses this strategy to protect his identity. By "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E14Masquerade Masquerade]]", he has also adopted his "bespectacled wimp" persona.
** Oliver Queen dresses up like Myth/RobinHood for a party in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E03Wither Wither]]". Then in the ''next'' episode, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E04Arrow Arrow]]", the Green Arrow (Oliver in disguise) steals a necklace at a party. Lois, of course, [[LovesMyAlterEgo doesn't see a connection]].
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E04Homecoming Homecoming]]" has a scene where Clark meets [[MyFutureSelfAndMe his future self]] and is taken aback by the glasses and slicked-back hair.
%%* ClearTheirName: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E13Suspect Suspect]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E15Infamous Infamous]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]."
* {{Cliffhanger}}: Every SeasonFinale up until the GrandFinale ends with one. Usually with major characters in mortal peril.
* CliffhangerCopout: The season 3 [[SeasonFinale finale]] "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E22Covenant Covenant]]" ends with Chloe's house exploding the instant she closes the door upon entering it, but a {{flashback}} in the second episode of Season 4, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E02Gone Gone]]", shows her escaping, with the time between closing the door and the explosion miraculously expanding to fit Lex's men getting her to safety.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Chloe was this during early seasons, to the point where, by her own admission later on, she was willing to sell Clark out to Lionel Luthor after she saw him with Lana. "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E04Devoted Devoted]]" centered on her being slipped a "LovePotion" which made all who drank it this trope temporarily, during which she tried to [[MurderTheHypotenuse kill her cousin Lois in a jealous rage]]. Thankfully, she outgrows this mindset and becomes a more mature person as the show goes on.
* CListFodder: In the early days of ''Smallville'', they used the BodyOfTheWeek more, but slowly more C-list fodder is KilledOffForReal. Not counting one-episode characters, or we'll be here all day.
** Season 1: Lewis & Laura Lang (appeared in flashbacks), Principal Kwan.
** Season 2: Roger Nixon, Steven Hamilton, Ryan James, Tina Greer, Dr. Walden.
** Season 3: Morgan Edge, Ian Randall, Pete Dinsmore, Frank Loder.
** Season 4: Alicia Baker, Bridgette Crosby, Genevieve and Jason Teaque.
** Season 5: Sheriff Nancy Adams.
** Season 6: Raya, Dr. Langston.
** Season 7: [[BackForTheDead Sasha Woodman]], Agent Carter, clone Lara and Zor-El, Patricia Swann, Gina, Edward Teague.
** Season 8: Regan Matthews, Linda Lake]]. While this season has the highest body count thanks to Doomsday being around, tons of it are one-episode appearances or even unnamed.
** Season 9: Alia (twice, ItMakesSenseInContext), clone Jor-El, Basqat, Doctor Fate, Faora, Zod may have killed more of the C-List [[GovernmentConspiracy Checkmate]] agents offscreen.
** Season 10: Hawkman, Earth-2 Lionel Luthor.
* ClonesArePeopleToo: Alexander Luthor is considered his own person in Series/{{Smallville}}, and not just a clone of Lex. Tess even raises him as her own son in an attempt to keep him from turning out like his progenitor. Eventually we find out that half of his DNA comes from Clark]and he changes his name to Conner Kent, becoming like Clark's little brother.
* CloningBlues: Season 7 in general could have reasonably been given the tagline "Attack of the Clones", given that this season features all the clones mentioned above (except for the Zod clone from Season 9 and his army, of course), plus Bizarro for three episodes.
** The Lara and Zor-El clones in Season 7's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E08Blue Blue]]".
** Zod and the Kandorian soldiers in Season 9, Jor-El in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E07Kandor Kandor]]".
** The [[CloningGambit Lana clone created just to be killed]], so she could [[FakingTheDead fake her death]]. Lex would do practically the same exact thing to [[FakingTheDead fake his death]].
** Grant Gabriel and Adrian Cross, aka Julian Luthor.
** Season 10's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E01Lazarus Lazarus]]" features more clones intended for organ transplants for Lex. One was in a tank, another was a child, and a third, more aged clone, oddly similar to [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort]]. The child clone survived and turned very, very [[EnfantTerrible evil]]... except after going through the CloningBlues, the clone was revealed to be Conner Kent/Superboy (who had gone through his own share of CloningBlues).
* ClothesMakeTheManiac: Clark has stumbled upon jewelry made of red kryptonite at least three times, usually to the [[NotHimself detriment of his personality]].
* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: The "Prometheus Suit" is a {{Nanomachine}} skin graft that is capable of providing SuperStrength and SuperSpeed to its wearer. It was made by [=LuthorCorp=] for Lex, but Lana convinces the scientist in charge to give it to her instead.
* ClothingDamage: This happens a few times with Clark, since while Clark is NighInvulnerable, the clothes he wears aren't. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E20Witness Witness]]", some villains throw him into a furnace and lock him in; once they're gone he emerges, clearly without clothes, but unharmed.
* CoconutSuperpowers:
** The show was guilty of this where Clark was concerned. While his powers were mostly physical, so not ''too'' budget straining, there was a reason that he very rarely flew and didn't actually master the power until the finale.
** This also had an effect on which characters they could use or what they could do with them. {{ComicBook/Darkseid}} was famously reimagined as a non-corporeal entity that possessed others since the show didn't have the budget to satisfyingly depict him as a SerkisFolk or a practical rubber monster. Some characters had their power reimagined to be more manageable like Mr. Mxyzptlk RealityWarper power changing to MindControl.
** This is why the sequel comic, ''Smallville Season 11'', proved so popular. It not only featured Clark ''finally'' cutting loose and using his powers in ways the show couldn't afford, but also had him interact with characters who could not have been done properly on television, like [[Comicbook/GreenLantern John Stewart and the Green Lantern Corps]], or the [[Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Monitors]].
* ColonyDrop: Apokolips comes within a few miles of impacting Earth before Clark, as Superman, pushes it away].
* ColorMotif: Early episodes also liked to use primary colors for anything related to Clark Kent, hinting at his future as Superman. It was also done for environments. The town of Smallville--and the Kent Farm, in particular--were given very warm tones, while Metropolis was portrayed for many seasons through a bluish filter to give the sense that pre-Superman Metropolis was a much more cold and uncaring place.
-->'''Jessie:''' ''[about Clark]'' Who's the hottie in the primary colors?\\
'''Chloe:''' ''[about Kara]'' I should have known you were Clark's cousin, what with all the primary colors.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience:
** Clark's (and Kara's) primary colors, against Lex's more muted or darker colors.
** Clark (Red Jacket/Blue Top) and Bizarro (Blue Jacket/Red Top).
*** Though something of a subversion, since Clark has been shown in the blue jacket/red shirt combo on several previous occasions. The actual episode with both Clark and Bizarro play it straight, once we know that they're both active.
** [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] affects Clark differently depending on what color it is.
** In Season 8, Clark only wore red and blue when operating as a hero. In Season 9, after [[HeroicBSOD declaring himself "dead" after the death of Henry "Jimmy" Olsen and disappearance of Lois]], he wears black, the color he wore as Kal-El in the Season 4 opener.
** Lana wore baby pink and baby blue for the first three seasons of the show. Then she switched to black the season she gets possessed by an evil witch. Then she started wearing either all black or all white as her character got more morally ambiguous in the later seasons.
** The proto-Justice League that forms about halfway through the series. Clark (obviously) in red and blue, Green Arrow (again, obviously) in green, ComicBook/{{Cyborg}} in silver, ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} in orange, Impulse in red.
* CombatPragmatist: Clark, especially when he fights without powers. To elaborate, Clark often uses his SuperSpeed to sneak up on people to attack them. [[JustifiedTrope Often justified in that he DOES have to keep his identity secret]]. In episodes where his powers are removed, Clark turns out to be quite the battle strategist, actually.
* ComicBookAdaptation: Creator/DCComics, not surprisingly, published about a dozen issues of its own ''Smallville'' comic book.
* CompositeCharacter:
** Chloe has several aspects taken from ComicBook/LoisLane (Being an IntrepidReporter) and ComicBook/LanaLang (Being part of Clark's ThreeAmigos crew along with Pete and being his closest confidant and SecretKeeper), this is despite both Lois and Lana being part of the cast. In later seasons she also took aspects from ComicBook/{{Oracle}}, both being [[TechnoWizard tech experts]] that become the MissionControl and information broker to the members of the superhero community.
** Tess Mercer is a combination of Mercy Graves (Lex Luthor's assistant from ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''), Miss Tessmacher (One of Lex's underlings from ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''), and Lena Luthor (Lex's sister from the comics). In the Season 11 comics she becomes Comicbook/RedTornado, essentially the ''Comicbook/{{New 52}}'' BrainUploading {{Gynoid}} version of the Tornado decomposited from Earth-2 Lois and composited onto Tess.
** ''Smallville's'' version of Comicbook/GreenArrow is essentially Oliver Queen filling [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne's]] role in the DC Universe. Like the comics' Green Arrow, he's a BadassNormal vigilante from Star City with a RobinHood-themed M.O. and an arsenal of deadly arrows. Like Batman, he's the main force behind the founding of the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]] and Clark's closest ally in the superhero community. [[note]] This was likely done because the producers of ''Smallville'' couldn't get the television rights to Batman. They only made ''Smallville'' in the first place because they couldn't make a series about a young Bruce Wayne, as they'd originally intended.[[/note]]
** The Star-Spangled Kid is Sylvester Pemberton, but sports a BadassLongCoat and Cosmic Staff like the Jack Knight version of Comicbook/{{Starman}}.
** While his true name is Bart Allen and he is eventually given the codename ''Impulse,'' he's advertised as the ComicBook/TheFlash for his debut episode, and is a composite of all of them: his fake ID cards have the names Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West.
** Smallville's version of [[ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} Slade Wilson]] combines elements of Deathstroke (His physical appearance and ability as a swordsman) with General Wade Eiling (His position as a patriot GeneralRipper with a vendetta against vigilantes).
** The comic book continuation introduces a version of Batman's archenemy the Joker, who in this continuity is an evil version of Bruce Wayne from another reality, which makes him similar to Batman's Crime Syndicate counterpart Owlman.
* CompressedVice: Pete's sudden interest in building and racing cars in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E13Velocity Velocity]]" despite never talking about it before.
* ConsultingAConvictedKiller: After someone [[FrameUp frames]] Lex for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Clark visits Lex's father in prison, wondering if he somehow managed to orchestrate this from behind bars. Lionel [[NotMeThisTime denies involvement]], but he does help Clark figure out the killer's identity, another one of Lex's exes.
* ContagiousPowers: Everyone--'''EVERYONE'''--on the show has at one point or another gotten (and lost!) powers from: [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]], {{genetic engineering|IsTheNewNuke}}, holding onto Clark and Kryptonite simultaneously during a [[LightningCanDoAnything lightning strike]], Jor-El, Kryptonian technology, [[GrandTheftMe possession]] by someone with powers or mystically. In fact, it happens to Chloe FOUR times and three times to Lana.
* ContinuityNod: The show generally has made nods to virtually every major era/incarnation of Franchise/{{Superman}}. Ideas from the Byrne reboot, the Silver Age, the Donnerverse, ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', the current comics era, and several new ideas have been blended together and all manage to co-exist on ''Smallville''.
%%* ContrivedCoincidence: Except some of them turn out [[ThereAreNoCoincidences not to be the coincidences]] they first appeared.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E02Metamorphosis Metamorphosis]]", Clark saves Whitney from a fireball by covering his back with his body. We actually see the fireball engulfing Whitney's uncovered front, and we are shown that the blast super-heats Clark's body to the point that his father is burned just by touching him, but Whitney is fine... somehow. Actually, the same kind of "fireball rescue" happens often enough that the show might as well be saying that Clark can extend his NighInvulnerability to someone else by hugging them.
* CoolCar: Lex Luthor, naturally. He is always driving a car that is fast, pricey and, most of all, cool.
* CoolLoser: [[ThreeAmigos Clark, Chloe, and Pete]] are shown this way at first. They grow out of it. Chloe even becomes Prom Queen in Season 4, and Clark becomes the star quarterback. In Season 1, when Clark is running for Class President, Pete even points out that Clark is actually well-liked and has looks and charm. Pete himself is shown to have friends and respect outside of the group, likely due to being on the football team.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive:
** Lionel Luthor and later, his son Lex. Much like his hair follicle-challenged son in the ''Superman'' timeline, his agribusiness [=LuthorCorp=] has plenty of underworld connections: Lionel killed his parents in a staged 'accident' and used the insurance payout as a startup for his company. (This backstory was borrowed from the post-[[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis]] Lex Luthor.) His friend and partner in crime was Morgan Edge, who of course later went on to become a major kingpin in Intergang. [=LuthorCorp=] functions as a standard soap opera antagonist in the series, meddling in small-town politics and running clandestine mutant research in underground labs.
** [[TheBaroness Tess Mercer]], who replaced the Luthors at the company's helm, is a different variation: a [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-intentioned]] ecoterrorist who used her position to try and order around Clark Kent, her chosen messiah. (Of course, saying that she "replaced" the Luthors isn't really accurate since she ''[[LongLostRelative is]]'' a [[InTheBlood Luthor]].) Once she does a HeelFaceTurn to join Clark's team, she actually uses her habits of this in almost a TokenEvilTeammate way to help the [=JLA=] out (mostly by using [=LuthorCorp=] to fund things just like Oliver does, and using her position as Clark's and Lois's boss to cover for them).
** Then there's [[AlternateUniverse Earth-2 Lionel]], who managed to combine this trope with DiabolicalMastermind, fusing [=LuthorCorp=] with the Metropolis underworld and essentially becoming TheEmperor.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E11Hug Hug]]" had corrupted executive Bob Rickman as the MonsterOfTheWeek, that have "Kryptonite handshakes" that [[CompellingVoice persuade anyone to do whatever they want them to do]], usually involving his shady business deals.
%%* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E01Pilot Pilot]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E06Hourglass Hourglass]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E21Accelerate Accelerate]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E12Hereafter Hereafter]]".
* CrashIntoHello: A rather twisted version. For starters, Lex is driving a car when he crashes into [[MadeOfIron Clark]]. This not only is the start of their friendship, but increasingly contributes to Lex's obsession with Clark.
* CrapsackWorld: "[[ForWantOfANail Luthor]]" has an establishing shot of Earth-2, home of Clark... ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Luthor]]'' ([[EvilCounterpart Ultraman]]). [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What would be the results of]] [[TemptingFate the Luthors adopting Clark]]? Seriously, [[OhCrap what]] [[ThisIsGonnaSuck could]] [[BringMyBrownPants go]] [[BewareTheSuperman wrong]]? [[http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/File:Sv10x10luthorhdmkv_000659658-1-.jpg Well...]].
* CreateYourOwnVillain: Lionel eventually becomes a better person... only to realize (too late) that his horrible parenting and the amoral value system he instilled in Lex over the years have finally borne fruit, and while Lionel is on his way to redemption, Lex is on his way to becoming an even more terrifying person than Lionel ever was. Ultimately, this comes back to bite Lionel.
* CrucifiedHeroShot: Clark gets this trope on occasion. It starts in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E01Pilot Pilot]]" when he's strung up as the Scarecrow in a very literal crucifixion, he gets another in "Hidden" after being shot by Gabriel, and in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E22Salvation Salvation]]" after being stabbed by Zod with blue kryptonite. As Superman can be seen as [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory a Jesus allegory]], this makes sense.
-->'''Lex:''' Clark, they left you tied to a stake in the middle of a field. Even the Romans saved that for special occasions.
* CuckooNest: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E12Labyrinth Labyrinth]]"
* CurbStompBattle: The vast majority of villains get one of these at the hands of Clark. Really, most episodes revolve around him having to find out who the villain is and/or figure out how to separate them from their chunk of {{Kryptonite|Factor}}. Once that's done, everything goes into slow motion, Clark walks up to the motionless bad guy, and takes them down with one punch. Or ''finger-flick.''
* DamselInDistress: Lana is often in this position, especially in the early seasons, often being captured by several villains and needing to be rescued by Clark JustInTime. PlayedWith in regards to the rest of the cast, every character gets put into this position a couple of times but they often assist on even manage to rescue themselves.
* DarkActionGirl: Several of the female MonsterOfTheWeek apply, of the main castm Tess Mercer is the most notable example. She's trained in hand-to-hand and has several fight scenes. She also notably does not use WaifFu like most other female characters. Most other girls on the show dance around their opponents and use a lot of kicks. Tess prefers to just punch you in the face.
* DarkerAndEdgier:
** Compared to the light-hearted Season 2, Season 3 ''definitely'' counts. Only in certain spots though. There are still a lot of episodes in Season Three that focus on one episode storylines that drove the first two seasons with the same mix of humour and actual peril. However, it is also the first season to focus more on big-picture elements, and it deals with the main characters going though a lot more turmoil. Clark starts off the season dealing with his dark side and living a very rough and rebellious lifestyle in Metropolis, Lex has a psychotic break (well, partly) and ends up institutionalized at Belle Reve, Chloe's life is turned into a living nightmare at times, and Pete starts to occasionally feel the bad effects of keeping Clark's secret under wraps.
** The second half of Season 8, compared to the first half. Season 9 features it as well, largely as a result of the S8 finale's fallout. In general, from Season 5 onwards, the show was darker than the earlier seasons.
* DeadlyDisc: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E01Savior Savior]]", during the fight between the Kandorian woman and Clark.
* DeadpanSnarker: Lois, Chloe, Oliver, Lex, Lionel, Tess, and on a good day, Clark.
* DealWithTheDevil:
** Jonathan makes one with [[AdaptationalVillainy Jor-El]] to bring Clark (who's under Red Kryptonite influence) home in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E01Exile Exile]]".
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]" , Clark makes another one to save Lana's life. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Jonathan dies instead.]]
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E22Vessel Vessel]]", Lionel says Lex has done it, and the devil (Zod) will always come to collect.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E17Sleeper Sleeper]]", Jimmy makes one with Lex to protect Chloe from government agents. He knows there would be a price. Lex comes to collect in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E20Arctic Arctic]]", MagnificentBastard-style.
* DeathByOriginStory: There was a comic book about Lex's childhood hero, the Avenging Angel, whose love interest became a victim of this trope. When the producers of a movie based on the comic decided to use the SparedByTheAdaptation trope on her, it motivated the [[MonsterOfTheWeek villain of the week]] to kill her actress while recording the scene where the character should die. When said villain learned of Clark's powers and how he uses them for good, the villain decided to kill ''Clark's'' love interest out of the belief a hero needs this element and a living girlfriend would be a weakness.
* DeathIsCheap: Practically everyone. Special mentions to Chloe Sullivan, who managed to die for no less than '''eleven''' times.
* DecompositeCharacter:
** The show had two different, completely unrelated versions of Dr. Hamilton from the comics.
** After they killed off Jimmy, they revealed that his real name was Henry James Olsen (with Jimmy as a nickname). This gave them an excuse to then establish a [[LegacyCharacter second]] Jimmy Olsen; the younger brother of the original.
* DenserAndWackier:
** Season Four's Lois episodes. In fact, that entire year is almost a retelling of ''Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane'' -- right down to [[BizarroEpisode Lois becoming a witch.]]
** Season 10, much like ''Lois & Clark'', seemed to be channeling Adam West's ''{{Series/Batman|1966}}'' in spots.
--->'''[[http://comicsalliance.com/recap-smallville-episode-10-11-icarus/ David Uzumeri]]:''' My favorite part of the episode comes with [[Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}} Slade]] and Comicbook/{{Hawkman}}, actually, when Slade is like 'Look, when I named this project Icarus, I never expected an actual dude with flaming wings falling from the sky. [[RuleOfCool This is totally awesome. I love life.]]'
* DesignatedGirlFight:
** ActionGirl Lois ends up fighting a lot of female villains after her introduction, such as Tess, Athena, Roulette, Maxima, Alia, Linda Lake and Victoria Sinclair.
** DarkActionGirl Tess also ends up fighting several girls, such as Lois, Lana, Chloe, Mad Harriet.
* DestructoNookie:
** A DeletedScene in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]", shows Desiree and Lex in a PostCoitalCollapse at the wine cellar in the mansion, with bottles broken all around them.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E07Wrath Wrath]]", Lana temporarily gains superpowers identical to Clark's. This means they can [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex finally have sex without him destroying her]]. Earthquakes ensue. Results in a funny moment as the entire town--including Chloe--feel the quakes, and Chloe later arrives at the Kent Farm and discovers (to her supreme awkwardness) the source of the quakes when she finds an obviously SexDressed Lana in the kitchen, only wearing [[SexyShirtSwitch Clark's shirt]].
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E04Instinct Instinct]]". When Clark and Maxima are [[ElevatorGoingDown making out in the Daily Planet elevator]] they start hitting the walls so hard it causes the whole building to shake. But they're interrupted by Lois before they go any further than making out.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]": In the first act, Clark and Lana's again have super-powered sex, but this time they only break the bed.
* DeusExMachina: Comicbook/LoisLane's "military connections" sure solve a lot of problems.
* DiabolicalMastermind: Lionel, Lex, Morgan Edge, Earth-2 Lionel, and Alexander all show aspects of this.
* DifferentlyPoweredIndividual: Called "meteor freaks", because most of them get their powers from the [[GreenRocks meteor rocks]] that came with Clark from Krypton. Chloe coined this phrase; ironically, she later discovers that she herself is a "meteor freak" and rails against use of the term, much to Jimmy's bewilderment (he wasn't in on this secret yet).
* DisneyDeath: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E03Hidden Hidden]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E17Void Void]]."
* DisneyVillainDeath: Given rather unceremoniously to Lionel in the ColdOpen of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E16Descent Descent]]".
* DistractedByTheSexy: A very common occurrence whenever something makes a girl NotHerself, but there are also other times.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]", Clark keeps glancing back at [[HotTeacher Desirée]] during class and she actually gestures for him to pay attention.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E11Visage Visage]]"
*** Lana gets distracted upon seeing Clark in a SexySoakedShirt for a few minutes.
*** [[PsychoLesbian Tina Greer]] while [[ShapeShifting disguised as Chloe]], is visibly shaken when she sees Lana in only a ModestyTowel fresh out of the shower, which weirds out Lana.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E15Freak Freak]]", Clark is briefly distracted when he is trying to XRayVision Chloe.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E13Warrior Warrior]]":
*** Chloe gets a bit distracted when she finds Alec [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]].
*** Clark and a whole queue of guys get distracted by Lois, who just changed into a Franchise/WonderWoman outfit.
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E05Roulette Roulette]]" Oliver is put through a series of life and death games. Who could be responsible? Chloe Sullivan, of course.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything
** Clark and other Kryptonians emit their heat vision [[SomethingElseAlsoRises when they are aroused]]. He first discovered this in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]" when [[EatingTheEyeCandy checking out]] the new HotTeacher and accidentally activates it. It's pretty much played as a case of JizzedInMyPants.
** Red Kryptonite is [[GRatedDrug often used as a stand in for drug use]]; when Clark comes into contact with it, he looses his inhibitions, and as he's fully aware of what's responsible for such, he will refuse to let go of the Red Kryptonite, almost like a drug user refusing to give up drugs. After being unintentionally exposed to it a few times, when Clark was dealing with feeling depressed after causing his mother to lose her unborn baby, he began using it to deal with the pain of guilt. Also, he starts mistreating his friends. There's more drug-related comparisons, but they'd take forever to write out.
** During Season 8, Davis Bloom would blackout and turn into Doomsday at random, but found a way to stop it by killing people, leading him to becoming a SerialKiller to avoid turning into the monster. For those who don't know the psychology behind compulsive serial killers, when a serial killer doesn't kill for a certain amount of time, they feel psychologically compelled to kill, sort of like they're being taken over by a metaphorical monster. In Davis' case, he was being taken over by a ''physical'' monster.
* DomesticAbuser: Lionel was physically abusive to both Lex and his wife Lillian.
* DoomedByCanon: If you weren't in the comics and your name isn't Chloe Sullivan, you're probably going to die before all's said and done.
** Lex in the first couple of seasons makes sincere efforts not to be the CorruptCorporateExecutive his father is, or if he must be one of those, to at least work towards noble goals and help his friend Clark. It reached the point where they had to forcibly change his obsession from I want to be special which he had let go of, to control freak. Everything quickly spiraled down hill from there.
*** It should be pointed out that a significant one is any type of romantic relationship with someone not Lois Lane.
* DownerEnding: There are a LOT of them...
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E08Ryan Ryan]]": The specialist Clark used his powers to get fails to save Ryan, and he still dies. The final scene shows Clark leaving Ryan's hospital room, looking back on the now empty bed, and he stands in the corridor, the hospital staff walking around Clark, oblivious to his grief.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E23Exodus Exodus]]": Clark destroys his ship and the shock wave from the explosion kills Martha's unborn baby. [[WhatTheHellHero Jonathan rails at Clark for this]], and Clark leaves his parents in their grief. Chloe, jealous of Clark and Lana's growing romance, agrees to spy on Clark for Lionel. Lex wakes up midair in his private jet to find his bride gone, the pilot gone, the control consoles smashed, and his jet crashing into the ocean. Overcome with grief and guilt, Clark deliberately puts on a Red Kryptonite ring, reverting to his {{Jerkass}} Kal persona to avoid feeling any more pain. As Kal, he leaves Smallville, Lana, and his adoptive parents, seemingly for good.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E08Shattered Shattered]]": Lex is committed to a mental asylum despite Clark's best efforts to help him, and Lana's in the hospital.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E18Truth Truth]]": Chloe, after being inflicted with a truth gas made from meteor rocks, goes to retrieve her voicemail which has Lionel's confession over how he killed his parents. However, it is not Lionel's confession, but a recording of Lionel saying that he has erased the voicemail, leaving Chloe heartbroken.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E19Memoria Memoria]]": Lex recalling the truth of what happened to his brother Julian and confronting Lionel with it after an episode of flashbacks showing how their relationship began to break down from bad to terrible and increasingly destructive.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E22Covenant Covenant"]]: Kara, the Kryptonian girl Clark met, is really Lindsay Harrison, a pawn of Jor-El. Jor-El takes Clark away, Jonathan goes into a coma, Lex is poisoned, and Chloe's safehouse blows up.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E12Pariah Pariah]]": Alicia Baker, who had done a HeelFaceTurn, is murdered.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]": Lex's good and evil selves are merged, but not before Evil!Lex goads his father Lionel into giving up his conversion to good. The smirk on Lex's face at the end as Lionel announces the end of the charity he founded suggests that Lex's halves merged with his evil side dominant which suggests Lex's FaceHeelTurn began here.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E20Ageless Ageless]]": Evan, the rapidly aging boy Clark and Lana grew to love, ages to the point of being an old man and dies. Lex's final line, just a few episodes after "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]" indicates he's now well and truly become evil.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]": Jonathan dies.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E22Vessel Vessel]]": Lex is [[GrandTheftMe possessed by General Zod]], Clark is trapped in the PhantomZone, Lionel and Chloe are being attacked by a mob, and Martha and Lois' plane crashes.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E10Persona Persona]]": Lana is forced to admit she's been far happier in the past month with Bizarro than she's ever been with Clark...just before she kills Bizarro. Even as he knows he's dying, Bizarro tells Lana he loves her. Brainiac drains the mind of (and most likely murders) his kindly creator Dax-Ur, giving himself the information he needs to become more powerful. Lex has Grant Gabriel, the clone of his dead brother Julian, murdered before Lionel's eyes just as Lionel and Grant were starting to bond.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E20Arctic Arctic]]": Lex finally discovers Clark's secret and uses the Kryptonian Orb to bring down the Fortress of Solitude.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E10Bride Bride]]": Doomsday literally crashes Jimmy and Chloe's wedding, killing at least one person, brutally beating Jimmy into a coma, and abducting Chloe. Lois is left grief-stricken and confused, wondering why these horrible things keep happening to all of them, and left crushed when Clark, her date for the wedding who is at this point over Lana enough that this evening could be considered their first REAL date, ends up rushing right back to Lana when she shows up. Chloe is possessed by Brainiac (again). And the whole thing's being monitored by Lex Luthor.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]": Lana leaves Smallville forever due to being irradiated with kryptonite and being near Clark could kill him.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E22Doomsday Doomsday]]": Jimmy dies, Davis dies, Clark [[HeroicBSOD declares himself dead]], and Zod returns as a younger, previously cloned version of the original. Not to mention Lois is accidentally transported one year into the future after a violent tussle with Tess and ''nobody'' knows what happened to her.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E22Salvation Salvation]]": Clark is able to send Zod and all the Kandorians away, saving Earth. However, Clark has a dagger made of [[PowerNullifier blue kryptonite]] stabbed into him and is falling to his death off the building. He gets better, though.
* DressedLikeADominatrix:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E04Instinct Instinct]]", Maxima's original outfit is a HellBentForLeather and {{Stripperiffic}} outfit that gives her an dominatrix vibe. She soon changes into a dress to stand out less.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E19Stiletto Stiletto]]", Lois briefly assumes the identity of the eponymous superheroine "Stiletto", dressing up in a black SpyCatsuit with CombatStilettos that makes her look like a dominatrix.
* DrivenToSuicide:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E17Reaper Reaper]]", Tyler, a meteor freak with a TouchOfDeath, uses his power on himself after realizing his attempts at {{Mercy Kill}}s have been doing more harm than good.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E06Relic Relic]]", Mayor Tate tries to shoot himself to avoid going to prison for his exposed crimes, but Clark quickly snatches the gun.
** At the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E16Crisis Crisis]]", Lionel sticks a gun in his mouth after he is diagnosed with a terminal illness but he reconsiders.
** Lex collapses the Fortress of Solitude down over him and a depowered Clark in an attempt to do this.
** After learning about his fate as Doomsday, Davis drowns himself in a Kryptonite shower, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero but this just ends up making him immune to Kryptonite.]]
** Oliver tries to blow himself up with a DeathTrap someone was already trying to murder him with. He [[UnexplainedRecovery gets better]].
* DrivenToVillainy:
** PlayedWith with Sean Kelvin in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E05Cool Cool]]". He was mutated by a combination of Kryptonite and hypothermia and [[AnIcePerson gained the power to drain heat from others]]. But his powers would kill in if he didn't keep draining people's body heat. A case could be made that he wasn't truly villainous, and was forced to kill people in order to survive, however the guy was made such a self-centered, vindictive psychopathic JerkAss that [[HandWave the point became moot]].
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E07Craving Craving]]" had a girl who was afflicted with [[WeightLossHorror sudden weight loss]] due to Kryptonite and had to regularly ''[[IAmAHumanitarian eat human flesh]]'' to keep from starving to death (regular food didn't work). She never actually killed anyone, just sucked their marrow and left them near death from the damage to their bodies. This was clearly a case of HorrorHunger, and in at least one instance, she urged a potential victim to run away.
** For real tragedy, see Davis Bloome in Season 8. A NiceGuy paramedic, Davis suffers from constant blackouts and discovers that he has alien SerialKiller and PersonOfMassDestruction Doomsday trapped inside him, and that the only way to keep the monster from taking over and slaughtering dozens of people is to kill individual victims. He thus becomes a PayEvilUntoEvil-type AntiHero, murdering those he considers to be deserving of it in order to keep his inner monster trapped. This eventually drives him completely insane, and results in his descent into true villainy.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Creator/MargotKidder had a falling out with the producers over the writers' idea to have her character announce the death of Christopher Reeve's character. [[DisproportionateRetribution Her character was killed off.]]
* DysfunctionJunction:
** The mothers of most main characters are [[MissingMom dead before the series begins]].
** Clark and his cousin Kara are the [[LastOfHisKind Last Of Their Kind]] after [[EarthShatteringKaboom Krypton exploded]].
** Chloe Sullivan's mother ended up in a mental institution and both mother and daughter have psychosis-inducing meteor infection.
** Lex Luthor probably has it worst. His mother murdered his younger brother. She soon died afterwards. And he is [[ArchnemesisDad definitely not on friendly terms]] with his father. Both he and his father are {{Self Made Orphan}}s.
** Lana Lang's parents were killed by a meteor.
** Lois Lane's mother died when she was six, and her army general father is not very nice. She also has a [[ManipulativeBitch manipulative]], backstabbing sister.
** Jimmy Olsen's father is a huge drunk and he never met his mother.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:E to F]]
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Several early episodes make it sound like the Luthors have been the royal family of Metropolis for generations. Later seasons would establish that Lionel Luthor was the son of Scottish immigrants and that he was born into poverty and went from RagsToRiches.
* EasyAmnesia: Occurs more often on this show than most people have hot dinners.
** The real test is when Clark does become Superman and how that will square with a substantial number of people knowing he is Clark Kent. Nearly no one knows what "The Blur" looks like, but everyone will know Superman's face.
** Used to a ridiculous grade in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]", when Tess simply smudges a neurotoxin in Lex's face making him forget everything, not just Clark-related stuff; every single thing that ever happened in his life is completely and instantly erased. So much for a FreudianExcuse now.
* EcoTerrorist: Aquaman first appears as an eco-terrorist trying to stop a sonic weapon created by Lex Luthor from going into production.
* EldritchAbomination: This is Darkseid's natural form.
* ElectionDayEpisode: The class president election is the main focus in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E18Drone Drone]]", and several episodes in season five revolving around the senatorial election, coming to a conclusion in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]".
* ElectrifiedBathtub: At the beginning of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E04Red Red]]", a rogue federal agent murders new girl Jessie's ex-boyfriend this way.
* EmpathicHealer:
** Chloe. She lost the ability later, due to a bizarre encounter with Brainiac.
** And Freak of the Week Cyrus Krupp in Season 2.
* EnemyMine: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E19Nemesis Nemesis]]"
* EngineeredHeroics: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E20Obscura Obscura]]" featured a policeman who kidnapped Chloe in an attempt to get credit for finding her. When that failed due to him and Lana having a telepathic connection, he decided he'd rather get the credit for solving the latter's murder...
* EngineeredPublicConfession: In the Season 9 finale. Zod, did you forget that your followers have SuperHearing?
* EnhanceButton: Chloe pull this one in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E17Void Void]]". And the pic came from one of her "sources" so its quality is pretty questionable.
* EverybodyHatesHades: In episode 10X05, Lois got possessed by Isis and tried to bring Osiris back into the world -- which, despite him being the just ruler of the dead, was treated as a very bad thing. Though it wasn't treated as a bad thing because Osiris himself was bad, but because calling him up would bring the Underworld into the real world.
* EverybodyLives: A semi-regular trope of the show, actually, thanks in part to Clark's ThouShaltNotKill policy. While a majority of episodes feature deaths, there's a substantial minority of episodes (on average, about 7 per season) where no one dies and Everybody Lives.
* EvilIsHammy: Yes. Dear god, yes. Lionel, Lex, and Zor-El all run with this trope. It's Callum Blue's performance however, as the [[ChewingTheScenery scenery chewing]] Major Zod that really proves it.
* EvilOrphanageLady: Granny Goodness uses her cover as an orphanage manager to brainwash and train girls for a future assault on Earth by Darkseid.
* EvilTwin: Bizarro and Ultraman to Clark, Earth-2 Lionel to the real one.
* {{Expy}}:
** Chloe Sullivan originally started as an Expy for Lois Lane (the actual Lois was introduced later), [[CompositeCharacter as well as the Silver Age version of Lana Lang]]. As she began to grow apart from Lois, her journalism career was downplayed and her computer skills evolved to their current levels -- making her an expy for ComicBook/{{Oracle}}.
** Tess Mercer, in her first two appearances, was referred to as both "an obscure regional VP" (unfit for her job of taking over for Lex Luthor) and a "pitbull in Prada." The first was said to her while they were up in the Arctic. The second, after she had firmly assumed control of her bald boss's former position. That's right, it's Sarah Palin. Of course, she's intended as a fusion of Mercy Graves and Miss Teschmacher (tending ''much'' more toward Mercy.)
** The episode "Warrior", turned the in-universe fictional Warrior Angel into a [[Comicbook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] Expy.
** This version of Comicbook/BoosterGold has quite a significant [[Film/MysteryMen Captain Amazing]] [[CorporateSponsoredSuperhero vibe]].
** There are some sharp similarities between Comicbook/GreenArrow's characterization and relationship with Clark, and that of Franchise/{{Batman}}. Throw in the fact that ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' meant the writers couldn't use Bruce, and that makes a lot of sense all of a sudden. Appropriate, given that initially Comicbook/GreenArrow was very much [[PoorMansSubstitute the poor man's Batman]] in the comics, with his earliest stories featuring Speedy as a blatant {{Expy}} of ComicBook/{{Robin}}, as well as an Arrow-Mobile and even an "Arrow Cave."
* ExpositionOfImmortality: "Dr. Curtis Knox" is never implicitly referred to as Comicbook/VandalSavage, but that's pretty much who he is. A Civil-War era photo of a bearded Knox which Lex shows Clark confirms he's immortal, or at least older than he looks. He also tells Chloe that he was once Jack the Ripper himself. According to ''Smallville: The Official Season 7 Companion'', Dr. Knox was indeed created as the creative team couldn't get the rights to Vandal Savage.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Lana saw immediately that Lois and Clark were attracted to one another from the start of their friendship, even though Lois and Clark deny it (Clark insists that he and Lois are merely VitriolicBestBuds and Lana notes "the best ones always start that way"). One episode later, Chloe notices a spark of attraction between them during the dunk tank event at Smallville High, Jimmy repeatedly notices their UnresolvedSexualTension, Oliver makes his share of observations, and Jonathan and Martha both have their own bemused suspicions that Clark and Lois's VitriolicBestBuds routine is [[BelligerentSexualTension masking something else]]. By Season 8, the UnresolvedSexualTension gets to the point where neither Lois nor Clark can deny it much longer.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: For Lex; for Clark/Lana's relationship; for Clark's desire for a normal life; for Chloe's unrequited love for Clark; for a great many things.
* FakeShemp: Michael Rosenbaum left the show after Season 7, so Lex's brief appearances in Season 8 were actually played by a body double named Kevin Miller.
* FakingTheDead:
** Tina Greer pull this off and escape Belle Reeve insane asylum, by murdering a woman and burning her corpse and make it look like it was Tina's and then using her VoluntaryShapeShifting powers to look like someone else and escape.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E08Shattered Shattered]]", Lionel fakes the death of one of Lex's security guard as part of a plot to [[{{Gaslighting}} make it look like Lex is losing his mind]].
** In season 3's witness protection fakes Chloe's death by blowing up her house and burying her coffin, although we only find this out in season 4's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E02Gone Gone]]".
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E05Reunion Reunion]]" shows that in the past, Lionel faked the death of Duncan (a ChildhoodFriend of Lex) while in actuality, he kept Duncan alive using a Kryptonite formula which gave Duncan powers.
** Lana Lang fakes her death in season 6 by substituting the body of one of her clones in place of herself.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E05Roulette Roulette]]", as part of her DeadlyGame, Roulette fakes her own death and has Oliver take the blame for "murdering her", which sets the cops after him.
* FanDisservice:
** Metallo. He's a WalkingShirtlessScene... with [[BodyHorror hideous tubing]] protruding from his ribs.
** The fangirl from "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E10Fanatic Fanatic]]" sneaks into Lex's place [[GoingCommando in just a trench coat]], head shaved like Music/BritneySpears to resemble Lex. Yep. She's ''batshit crazy''.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E06Prey Prey]]", Davis Bloome gets a ShowerScene... to wash off all the blood from [[SerialKillerKiller his latest kill]].
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E15Conspiracy Conspiracy]]", Vala and her Kandorian friends are kidnapped by a MadDoctor who [[UndressingTheUnconscious strips them down]] to their underwear while leaving then StrappedToAnOperatingTable. Any titillation one might have gotten from [ala [[LingerieScene in her underwear]] is gone as she's ForcedToWatch Dr. Chisholm experiment and dismembers her friends.
* {{Fanservice}}: The show features plenty of equal-opportunity fanservice, with plenty of {{Head Turning Beaut|y}}ies and {{Hunk}}s on the cast and they're often under MaleGaze or FemaleGaze. The plot also puts the characters into a lot of {{fanservice}} situations or states of undress, including several {{Shower Scene}}s, {{Shirtless Scene}}s and many FanserviceCostumes. But while there's plenty of skin showing, the show doesn't feature any explicit nudity. Tropes like CensorShadow, SceneryCensor, ShouldersUpNudity or ToplessnessFromTheBack are used to cover up a character anytime they're naked.
* FantasticRacism: Kara Zor-El dropped a few rungs on the likeability ladder when she called Comicbook/MartianManhunter "Red-Eyes." As seen [[http://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=reviews/smallville7-ep04 here]].
* FauxActionGirl: PlayedWith. While many of the main female characters like Lana and Tess are repeatedly shown to be {{Action Girl}}s, their fights are generally reserved for the DesignatedGirlFight or only on men when it is convenient to the plot. Otherwise, all of their skill instantly disappears. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E13Power Power]]", Tess is suddenly attacked, and instead of using her martial arts, she resorts to the typical girl-in-distress montage. She grabs a statue and plugs the guy, potentially killing him despite ([[InformedAttribute if she knows aikido]]) knowing a way to incapacitate him with pressure points and uncomfortable postures once the gun is gone. Then she gang initiation kicks him until her face is covered in blood, and the show takes pains to romanticize her rubbing it from her lips in slow motion.
* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: The show has a problem with this from time to time. However it was taken to absurd levels in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]", where Lex, a man who every woman he was ever in a relationship with had betrayed, being portrayed as less sympathetic than a crazy suicidal stalker and a woman who cheated on her fiancé for a one night stand. It reaches the point that the main characters were so disgusted by Lex’s actions that they were more willing to trust ''Lionel'' over Lex.
* FemmeFatale:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E20Noir Noir]]", all the characters are in a FilmNoir and Lana takes the role of the Femme Fatale, having an affair with Clark Kent, an undercover cop, killing her husband, Lex, and framing Jimmy for the murder.
** Tess Mercer from Season 8 onwards. She's mostly a WellIntentionedExtremist, but she still has a lot of ulterior motives.
* FetalPositionRebirth:
** The final shot of Season 3, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E22Covenant Covenant]]", has a naked Clark in a fetal position during the process where he's being "reborn" as Kal-El. Fittingly in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]", he's back on Earth while NakedOnRevival.
** Davis in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E02Plastique Plastique]]", after his transformation back into a human.
* TheFinalTemptation: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E12Labyrinth Labyrinth]]" a phantom takes over Clark's mind and tries to bend him to its will. It used an illusion of Lana to persuade him to stay in the dream state and believe it was real, while the phantom maintained control over Clark's body. When Clark tries to resist, Lana questions why he is so eager to return to a reality in which they are apart and he is an alien who has caused so much pain.
* FinaleSeason: The words "The Final Season" appear above the title in the commercials for season 10. In fact, the PreviouslyOn segment at the beginning of the season premiere ends with Tom Welling's voice saying "And now, the final season of Smallville".
* FirstGirlWins: Averted; despite Lana being hyped as the designated love interest, she and Clark ultimately separate.
* FirstGrayHair: Spoofed in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E08Spell Spell]]". The Wicked Witch, Isobel, has taken over Lana's body and needs the hair of a virgin for a potion she's brewing. When Lois has her back turned, Isobel plucks one of Lois' hairs out, but frowns upon realizing that Lois isn't a virgin. Lois, who is unaware that Lana is being possessed by Isobel, angrily asks Isobel why she would pluck one of her hairs out. Isobel lies and says "It was gray", to which Lois insists "I don't have any gray hair". Isobel shrugs and looks innocent. Lois gets a nervous expression on her face and says "I'll... be in the bathroom using your mirror," and hurries off.
* {{Flanderization}}: Chloe went from someone who was okay with computers to being able to [[ReversePolarity trace a bug's point of origin]], discover [[OmniscientDatabase anything about anyone]], and she even had a shot at decoding a Kryptonian virus on her PC... when all the power on Earth had been shut off. Basically she filled in any {{plot hole}}s where the writers couldn't think of a way to get Clark to the place he needed to be. Brainiac downloads its intellect into her, pretty much super-Flanderizing her computer skills; it turns out he was responsible for her intelligence going out of control and she was losing more and more of herself as time went on.
* ForWantOfANail:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]": If Clark reversed time to save Lana...
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E15Infamous Infamous]]": If Clark had Lois report his secret to the world...
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E09Pandora Pandora]]": If the Kandorians gained their powers...
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E10Luthor Luthor]]": If Kal-El was found and raised by Lionel Luthor instead of the Kents...
* ForcedPrizeFight: The Live or Die Fight Club in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E17Combat Combat]]" posts these fights on the Internet.
* ForegoneConclusion: The show has drama, suspense, and {{Shipping}} even though we already know that Clark becomes Franchise/{{Superman}}, ends up with Lois Lane and his friendship with Lex Luthor will dissolve as they become {{ArchEnem|y}}ies later in life.
* TheForeignSubtitle: In Brazil, the series is known as ''Smallville - As Aventuras do Superboy''. That title means "Smallville - The Adventures of Superboy".
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ironic references to the Franchise/{{Superman}} mythos. ''So God damned many''.
** On a separate note, in the prologue of the "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E01Pilot Pilot]]" episode, we see a newspaper headline mentioning that the head of Queen Industries is missing presumed dead. This foreshadows [[Comicbook/GreenArrow Oliver's]] eventual appearance on the show.
** When Lex proposes to his girlfriend, the song playing in the background becomes recognizable as an acoustic cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "Don't Fear The Reaper"... needless to say, things don't end well.
** One of the biggest long term {{foreshadowing}}, apart from Clark's destiny, comes from the season 1 episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E06Hourglass Hourglass]]" when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYRr67advsY Cassandra sees Lex's future]]: He is in the White House, with white clothes and a black glove on his right hand. This foreshadows stuff that we only find out in the finale, almost ten years later: the glove is to cover his imperfect [[CloningGambit cloned hand]], in 2018 he is elected U.S. President and he wears the same white clothes in the presidential inauguration.
** After finding Infant!Clark in the "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E01Pilot Pilot]]", Martha says that she and Jonathan didn't find Clark, he found them. She's speaking poetically, but Season 3's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E06Relic Relic]]" would reveal that Jor-El did indeed send his son to the Kents on purpose, having known Jonathan's father.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: ''Smallville'' has always been very bad about this.
** In the early seasons, the "[[MonsterOfTheWeek Freak of the Week]]" would often be a [[RememberTheNewGuy a longtime friend the main cast would've known]] for ''years'' prior to [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Kryptonite radiation turning them evil.]] More often than not, [[KarmicDeath they'd die.]] The main cast would spend absolutely no time mourning their loss or [[FaceHeelTurn what they had become]] even in the episode where they died.
** In later seasons this would extend to {{recurring character}}s and several cases of ''series regulars'' Whitney Fordman, Jason Teague and Davis Bloome who'd be KilledOffForReal, might be mourned in the episode they died, and then either never mentioned again or mentioned in only the briefest most casual way for plot purposes.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E10Skinwalker Skinwalker]]", Clark had a [[GirlOfTheWeek passionately romantic attachment]] with Kyla Willowbrook a MagicalNativeAmerican [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent shapeshifter]] with a meaningful bracelet and prophecy saying she was his soul mate, and in the end of the episode she tragically dies. Next episode it was like it never happened, except she had been the device for the 'caves' setting to be introduced, and ''those'' stuck around. What was her name, anyway? [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Kyla Willowbrook]].
** Alicia Baker was another TemporaryLoveInterest of Clark. In a two-parter she and Clark fall deeply in love, she is 'the one' but thanks partly to Clark not believing she was innocent of attacking his friends, [[ILetGwenStacyDie she is killed by the actual baddie]]. [[MoodWhiplash The very next episode opens with Clark excited about getting a football scholarship]].
** Grant Gabriel. Lionel does mourn him. For one episode. He is a clone of his biological son. Which is one more episode than Lois ever mourned for him, [[RomanticFalseLead even though she knew him longer.]]
** Gina. Granted the only one who'd care would be Lex, and it's ''[[ItsAllAboutMe Lex]]'' were talking about here. Still, you'd think he'd spend at least a moment wondering who the Hell murdered his most loyal and devoted assistant.
** Downplayed with Lionel Luthor, who's mentioned quite a bit after his death. However most of his mentions are of the devil [[MagnificentBastard bastard]] he was at the start of the series and not as the ally he became in the show's second half.
** Also averted, somewhat with Jimmy Olsen. His death sends Clark into a dark spiral, and Chloe isn't much better off, if at all, and Clark refusing to go back to save him, citing the example of what happened when he averted Lana's death and lost his father instead, is a key point of tension between the two of them for much of the first third of the Ninth Season.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The four-member ''Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}'' team up in the episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E11Justice Justice]]": Oliver aka Green Arrow (choleric), Victor aka Cyborg (melancholic), Clark (phlegmatic), and Bart aka Impulse (sanguine).
* FreakyFridayFlip:
** Clark and Lionel swap bodies in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E06Transference Transference]]" thanks to the Crystal of Water.
** PlayedWith in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E17Hex Hex]]". ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} uses her magic to put Chloe in Lois body when Chloe becomes envious and wishes she was had Lois life. In the morning Chloe finds herself in Lois's body and she and the audience think they switched bodies, but when Chloe calls Lois, she discovers Lois is still in her own body, Zatanna just made Chloe look identical to Lois.
* FriendlessBackground: Lex Luthor as a child.
* FreudianExcuse: Lex's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder hyper-manipulative, borderline-sociopathic, power-obsessed dad]] really did a number on him. Then again, in the finale absolutely all his memory is erased, up to and including all his childhood memories, rendering this pretty much pointless. Well, presumably, his personality is still intact, so he is still the bitter, angry, cynical bastard we've all come to know, even if he doesn't remember ''why''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:G to H]]
* GRatedDrug: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E14Rush Rush]]" unintentionally (victims get stung by an alien parasite), but "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E20Witness Witness]]" is one of several cases of meteor rocks being used as such. "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E17Void Void]]" comes with the overdue LampshadeHanging.
* GambitRoulette: Quite early in the series, in Season 1, there was a Roulette involving Lex Luthor, his father, and an old lover named Victoria. Victoria came to the Luthor mansion and led Lex to believe that she was playing on Lex's dislike for his father so that her own father could buy out [=LuthorCorp=]. Lex convinced her that they should play their fathers against each other and bring them both down. Lex cultivated a romantic relationship with Victoria and when they went into business talks with Victoria's father, he said that he was poised to buy out [=LuthorCorp=] thanks to Victoria's intelligence she gathered from Lex's computer. However, Lex had already made sure that Victoria's father's endeavors would be useless and unfruitful. Lex and his father bought out Victoria's father's corporation, but in a surprising twist, it was revealed that Victoria was a lover of Lex's father and working for him the whole time.
%%* {{Gaslighting}}: Happens to Lex after he was lost on an island and during "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E08Shattered Shattered]]".
* GaussianGirl: The first appearance of Kara -alias Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}- shows her blurred and in a flowing white dress. Underwater. When she saves Lex Luthor and flies away, he is convinced she is an angel who is there to make him repent his sins.
%%** The sequences within the Fortress of Solitude in all get a bit Gaussian...
* AGlassOfChianti: The Luthors, constantly. Major Zod too.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom:
** Clark gets these on occasion when he's on red Kryptonite.
** Martian Manhunter, although he's one of the good guys, so it's not really "of doom".
* GoryDiscretionShot: This occurs more and more as the series [[AudienceShift gets more mature]], and non-discretion shots start appearing in later seasons.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E11Visage Visage]]": When Tina!Whitney is (almost) exposed by a Marine lieutenant who shows up to inform Mrs. Foreman that the real Whitney died in combat, Tina!Whitney [[BatterUp bludgeons the guy to dead with a baseball bat]]. His death is never explicitly shown; we only see Tina!Whitney covered in blood and Mrs. Foreman screaming.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E03Hidden Hidden]]": Chloe and Gabriel struggle for a gun, and it fires, out of view, and blood splatters on the window. For a few horrible moments it seems that Chloe was shot (won't be too much of a difference because she couldn't stop the missile anyway and [[BroughtDownToNormal Clark]] was also shot by Gabriel just before) but then Gabriel went limp.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E08Static Static]]": A few during the rampage of [[ImAHumanitarian Alder]]. Unfortunately subverted by some scenes. Kindly keep your BrainBleach handy.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E14Trespass Trespass]]": The blood under the door version. Subverted later.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E05Committed Committed]]": At the crucial moment, Clark sets off a steam pipe that clouds the whole chamber and prevents Lois from seeing how he owns Macy. Unfortunately, neither do we.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E13Power Power]]": When Regan prepares to shoot Tess, she disarms and fells him and then kicks him to death his blood splatters on her face.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E16Turbulence Turbulence]]", when Doomsday apparently kills Chloe in front of Jimmy, her blood is splattered all over a window.
* GovernmentConspiracy: Checkmate is one; the Comicbook/SuicideSquad is the remnants of one. The government went above board with the [[SuperRegistrationAct Vigilante Registration Act]] and General Slade Wilson spearheading it, although the public is still in the dark about the government constructing concentration camps for the superheroes.
* GrandFinale: The last episode, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]" is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
%%* GrandTheftMe
%%* GreaterScopeVillain: [[SealedEvilInACan General Zod]] to Brainiac in Season 5.
* GreenRocks: {{Trope Namer|s}}. The kryptonite fragments left all over Smallville have had dozens of different effects, ''not including'' individual powers bestowed, depending on what else is present in the immediate area when an individual is exposed. Which is how the human "freak of the week" in the first two seasons got their powers, usually them having to be at the point of death when exposed.
* GroundhogDayLoop: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]": Subverted in that the loop only repeats once and the only thing Clark's able to change is which person he loves dies that day. Originally it was Lana. In the loop, it's Jonathan.
* HappilyAdopted: Clark has boatloads of angst over his Kryptonian heritage, but he loves his parents and considers them his real family. He even explicitly says in "Rosetta" that no matter what he finds out about his people, the Kents will still be his mom and dad. He has also told Jor-El that Jonathan is his real father and never calls Jor-El "father". Except in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E09Abyss Abyss]]".
* HappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler: ''Crisis On Infinite Earths'' revealed that Clark and Lois settled down on the Kent farm, Clark depowered himself permanently, and the two have two daughters]].
* HappilyMarried:
** The Kents, naturally, before Jonathan dies. They argue a few times, usually over Clark's most recent alien/superhero issues, but ultimately always support each other and him and work through their issues by talking them out.
** General Zod and his wife Faora do genuinely love each other. Ironically things go very badly for clone Zod and clone Faora.
** Arthur gets married to Mera offscreen in season 10 and both are extremely dedicated to each other and their commitment to justice, with him and Mera working well as a BattleCouple.
** Clark is married to Lois in the GrandFinale. According to the flash-forward sequence set in 2018, Clark and Lois are happily married, although they chose not to display any rings at the Planet office due to their desire to keep their professional lives separate from their personal lives. By 2019, both have left the city life to live in the Kent farm with their two daughters.
* HardHead: ''Smallville'' is the ''king'' of this trope. Lex and Lana have each been knocked out almost ''50 times''.
* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: Despite numerous allusions to his famous alter ego, we never see Clark in full Superman regalia. Even in "Finale", we only see Clark in the Superman suit in ''extreme'' long shots (where he's probably a CGI double), or ''extreme'' closeups where it's just his face with some blue and red barely visible at the shoulders. Even the final shot ends with Clark just ripping open his shirt to show the S emblem underneath. Tom Welling wearing an actual Superman costume is never shown at any point in the entire series.
* HealingFactor: The Kryptonians, Curtis Knox and Lex possess it. Certain drugs can temporarily give anyone this power, [[PsychoSerum with side effects]]. For a while, Chloe had not only the power to heal herself but to heal others, even resurrect them. She saved Lois' life once. She later lost that power because of Brainiac.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Lex Luther has actually attempted to perform a HeelFaceTurn numerous times throughout the series but has always been trusted back into the world of villainy. Usually through the actions of the heroes though mainly Lana.
* HeelFaceTurn:
** Lionel, who eventually becomes a [[ParentalSubstitute father figure]] for Clark. It was mostly a case of Clark redeeming him. While Lionel still had ulterior motives, for the most part by Season 7, he was genuinely concerned with making sure the world didn't end as a result of Lex's various insane quests, and Clark was naturally the best means to accomplish this.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E04Homecoming Homecoming]]", both Brainiac (5) and Greg Arkin (the villain of the second episode of the series who returned to his high school reunion to thank Clark for helping him overcome his madness)..
** Tess does one in the finale of Season 9, eventually joining the team in Season 10.
* HeroicSacrifice: Thanks to Jor-El, Clark is able to do this several times. It's practically one of his powers in the series.
* HesAFriend: Clark tries to do this between his cousin Kara and ComicBook/MartianManhunter. It didn't end well.
* HomeBase: The Watchtower, a loft apartment in Metropolis that resembles a ClockTower is used as the headquarters for Oliver, Chloe and the Justice League.
* HomeEarlySurprise: Clark's parents go to Metropolis for an evening, so he invites a few people over. This becomes a full WildTeenParty compete with trashed house. The next morning Clark uses his SuperSpeed to clean up, figuring on his parents being none the wiser when they get home - but when he gets done he turns around to see them in the door, [[SarcasticClapping applauding]] his finish.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Clark is a tall strapping guy and most of the women in his life are fairly petite but of course Clark and Chloe are the exemplars.
* HumanAliens: The Kryptonian Clark looks just as a regular human would, as do all Kryptonians. In fact, ''all'' of the aliens shown either look human, are [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]] posing as human, or disembodied beings [[BodySurf possessing human bodies]].
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: A few episodes like "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E12Insurgence Insurgence]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E13Suspect Suspect]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E19Precipice Precipice]]" are completely meteor-freak-less and have [[{{Mundanger}} regular people]] as the MonsterOfTheWeek. Also, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E14Tomb Tomb]]" has a girl raised from the dead by a meteor rock bracelet ([[LightningCanDoAnything and a bolt of lightning]]) to go after an AxCrazy but otherwise ''human'' psych ward orderly. Who, y'know, ''put her there in the first place''.
* HotterAndSexier: The show has a cast full of HeadTurningBeauty for both genders and often puts them in {{Fanservice}} outfits and situations, far more than the UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' comics it was loosely inspired by or ven the usual ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' show.
* HurricaneOfPuns: Often happens in discussions of the freak of the week.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Pretty much everybody from [[TheHero Clark]] and [[LoveInterests Lana]] to [[BigBad Lionel Luthor]].
** The worst example, however, has to be Lex, who constantly bitches about Clark keeping his secret from him, while simultaneously keeping an army of skeletons (all of them far, far darker than Clark's) in his own closet.
** Lana complains constantly about Clark and Lex hiding things from her, but the minute she has a secret (the black spaceship, the fact that Lex is still alive, etc.), she goes out of her way to hide it from Clark. Which also makes her TooDumbToLive, since in those situations Clark is probably the ''first'' person she should be talking to, as he actually has a proven track record of saving her from these situations.
** Clark is perhaps the biggest example: he expects everyone else to be completely honest with him about everything, but builds his relationships around lies and deceit, insisting on keeping his "secret" even among his closest friends. That's probably why he's so touchy about lies; he knows people keep secrets and that somebody can be deceiving you even when it doesn't seem like it--he does so himself. Lampshaded in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E14Zero Zero]]" where he chews out Chloe for snooping around in his past, then ''immediately'' invites her to join him in snooping into Lex's. Chloe does a double-take.
** He admits that his reactions to things are what keep people from telling him things in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E10Luthor Luthor]]". He starts the episode off by telling ([[DramaticIrony secret]]) Luthor Tess that all Luthors are dangerous and evil. He then is furious and offended when he finds out that she hid Lex's clone from him. He then disappears [[AlternateUniverse into the plot]] before Tess can admit to her heritage, so we don't know how he would've taken that. At the end of the episode, however, he's realized that blaming the entire Luthor bloodline for Lionel's influence is the exact reason why Tess didn't tell him the truth, so he stops being a jerk about it.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E05Nocturne Nocturne]]", he peevishly comments that Lana's [[ObsessiveLoveLetter Secret Admirer]] sounds like a stalker. This, from Mr. Peeping Telescope.
** Clark gets a lot of heat in the start of season 3, [[NotHimself acting like a totally different person]] under the influence of [[GRatedDrug red kryptonite]]. The thing is, ''the same thing happened'' to Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E04Devoted Devoted]]", Lana in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E08Spell Spell]]" and Lex in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]" later in season 4. Either Clark can't bring himself to call them out on it, or it never occurred to him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:I to J]]
* IAmNotMyFather:
** Lionel is introduced as a proto-Lex Luthor and Lex becomes closer, and closer to what Lionel is as the story advances, much to his horror. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E19Memoria Memoria]]", Clark even warns Lex about it.
-->'''Clark:''' You always tell me how you don't want to turn into your father, and I believe that, but the more you two go at each other, the more like him you become and the more people get hurt.\\
'''Lex:''' I will never become my father. I would never sacrifice you or anybody I cared about to bring him down.
** When Tess finds out that her father is Lionel, it [[InTheBlood explains a lot]] about her ManipulativeBastard tendencies as well as her HeelFaceRevolvingDoor. However, she's determined to prove that she's nothing like a Luthor. When his AlternateUniverse version asks her why she doesn't just have him killed (which is something he'd do), she says that that's not who she is.
* ICanExplain
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E14Zero Zero]]" Lex attempts to convince a female friend that she deserves better and got her to a nightclub, where she found the man she is engaged with when he is supposed to be on a business trip. The guy says the line repeatedly but it's quite clear he's just a cheating JerkAss.
** When Chloe and Clark are both [[NotHimself not themselves]], they do some intense making out right under Lana's nose. When Chloe strips Clark, the red kryptonite is removed and he is back to normal. He says this to Lana who slams the door in his face after NotWhatItLooksLike. He can't explain anyway as he must save Chloe before she get herself killed as some parasite makes her dangerously impulsive, and Clark can't tell Lana about the red kryptonite anyway.
** Lana once says this when Lex finds out she stole his car. There is absolutely nothing she could explain, really.
** Jimmy says this when Chloe, who is at the time his girlfriend, walked in on [[Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] and him alone but not doing anything suspicious.
** Clark would often tell this to Lois in later seasons, when [[TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife he often had to ditch her for heroics]] but couldn't quite explain it, such as in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E15Infamous Infamous]]" when he left her in the rain for three hours and in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E04Echo Echo]]" when he didn't show up for a date.
* ICantDance: Clark is a terrible dancer, which is a RunningGag on the show and especially noticeably in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E08Spell Spell]]" when he's forced to dance due to a spell being cast.
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: In early seasons, Clark was usually baffled whenever a girl expressed interest in him, especially Lana, because his self-esteem was so low that he was oblivious to the fact that even without superpowers, he's still [[{{Hunk}} very attractive and buff]].
* ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin: The early seasons treated several of the "[[MonsterOfTheWeek Freak of the week]]" as a metaphor for drug addiction. [[GRatedDrug Red Kryptonite]] that makes Clark NotHimself was given a similar treatment.
* IgnoreTheFanservice:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E15Nicodemus Nicodemus]]": Lana tries to seduce Clark and Lex with little success. {{Justified|Trope}} as she's under the influence of the [[LoveIsInTheAir Nicodemus plant]] that makes her NotHimself and they're both AboveTheInfluence.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]": When Jonathan goes to talk to [[HotTeacher Desirée]] attempts to seduce Jonathan when they meet in the Luthor Mansion's swimming pool, but he's unimpressed. But while he's able to resist her beauty and charms, he has no defense against her LivingAphrodisiac powers and succumbs when she uses them.
** {{Averted|Trope}} in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]". Lois [[NakedFirstImpression first meets the amnesiac Clark]] when he's NakedOnRevival and [[InnocentFanserviceGuy no longer understand the concept of nudity taboo]]. She attempts to ignore it and tells herself to [[MyEyesAreUpHere keep her eyes on his face]] but fails and lets her eyes wander... ''lower'' for [[EatingTheEyeCandy a significant time]].
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E05Action Action]]", when Clark finds Rachel having a massage in his living room, he is very uncomfortable and makes a point to keep his eyes averted while she puts a robe on.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E14Persuasion Persuasion]]": When Tess [[SexySurfacingShot climbs out of the bathtub]] in front of Zod', his eyes never leave her face.
* IJustWantToBeBadass: This is the show's interpretation of the [[HeroicWannabe Wonder Twins]] and [[IdiotHero Booster Gold]].
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Clark, especially in the early seasonsIn the early seasons, just wished to be a normal guy with no superpowers and secrets. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E17Hex Hex]]", when ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} granted his deepest wish he lost his powers and his memory of them (Chloe was able to snap him out of it). In Season 9, it's even less likely he wants to be normal, as he has accepted his destiny to help humanity with his powers. This could be considered as part of the character growth as a virtual human raised by humans who is on the cusp of fully accepting who and what he is and thus becoming Superman. Even the "incident" with Zatanna is treated less like Clark wanting to give up his abilities completely, and more like just wanting to take a vacation in the land of the ordinary human for a day or two.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial:
** Pete Ross is shown to have a desire for superpowers, mostly to get out of Clark's shadow. Whenever he does get powers, something goes wrong.
** This is one of Lex's main motivations. After being put through traumas that include [[PrematurelyBald losing his hair as a child]], being [[BullyMagnet bullied at school]], TakingTheHeat for his mother murdering his infant brother, having his mother pass away from cancer while he was away and dealing with his [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusive father]], Lex desperately needed to believe that it was all for a higher purpose as the alternative (That it was all for nothing) is far too horrible to contemplate. This goes to explain his resentment of Clark who constantly rejects his amazing power and doesn't want to fulfill the destiny Lex believes he is entitled to.
* IJustWantToBeYou
** Tina Greer is a [[VoluntaryShapeShifting meteor freak shapeshifter]] who grew up envying Lana's seemingly perfect life. When we meet her, she has already styled her hair to resemble Lana's and dresses in clothes that are basically the same clothes that Lana wears... even going as far as buying an emerald necklace to imitate the Kryptonite necklace Lana wears (that was made from the meteor that killed Lana's parents). After the death of her mother (which she was responsible for), Tina shapeshifts to impersonate her mother while concocting a story that her mother is moving to Metropolis, and asks Lana if she can move in with her and Aunt Nell. When Lana says that she needs to ask Aunt Nell for permission (a perfectly reasonable point), Tina freaks out and takes this as a sign of rejection... and then decides that she's going to [[KillAndReplace murder Lana and use her shapeshifting abilities to assume Lana's identity]], even going as far as practicing writing Lana's signature multiple times as preparation. When she returns in another episode her obsession with Lana [[PsychoLesbian became romantic]] and she dropped this angle.
** Bizarro started as a pure evil wraith. He was viewed as a monster by his creators and trapped in the Phantom Zone. He never knew happiness. When he was freed from the Zone [[MoralEventHorizon he possessed human bodies to survive]]. Until he got Clark's DNA, memories and powers. He tried [[KillAndReplace to replace Clark while he was trapped in the fortress]] after he genuinely falls in love with Lana.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E07Rage Rage]]", Oliver becomes addicted to a PsychoSerum that gives him a HealingFactor but turns him increasingly psychotic. After he is stopped and recovers from the addiction, he admits that he was jealous of Clark's abilities and was trying to emulate them.
* INeedToGoIronMyDog: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E19Stiletto Stiletto]]", when Lois is operating as a superheroine. Note that this is late at night and Shelby, Clark's dog, is in Smallville, not Metropolis.
-->'''Police Scanner:''' Attention downtown units. Silent alarm at Riverside Jewelry on 5th and Water, handle code 10-38.\\
''[Clark and Lois stands up abruptly to leave]''\\
'''Clark:''' Well, I better... go feed Shelby.\\
'''Lois:''' Uh, I should hit the gym.
* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Played straight when Jonathan Kent (Creator/JohnSchneider) is the one introducing us to Senator Jennings (Creator/TomWopat), both from ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard''.
* IllKillYou:
-->'''[[EvilTwin Clark Luthor]]:''' Give me the box.\\
'''Tess:''' And if I don't?\\
'''Clark Luthor:''' I'll kill you.
* ImColdSoCold: Subverted. Eric says something like this when he is drained of Clark's powers, but he survived.
* ImYourBiggestFan: Samantha Drake in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E10Fanatic Fanatic]]" is president of the Students for Lex Luthor group. [[BaldWomen She shaves her head]] to resemble him and goes to great lengths to get Jonathan Kent to drop out of the Senate race. She expects praise from Lex for the assault on Jonathan.
* ImStandingRightHere: In "Kara", ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]]'' insults Chloe by saying she is "[[PunyEarthling just a human]]" condescendingly when she is standing right there; Clark defends her by saying [[TheSmartGirl Chloe is smarter than both of them put together]].
* IdenticalGrandson: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E06Relic Relic]]", Clark's father and Lana's great-aunt are portrayed by Clark and Lana's respective actors. Lana's distant ancestor Countess Isobel also looks just like her.
* IdentityImpersonator: In a variation on the usual Superman formula, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E10Hydro Hydro]]" sees Clark dressed up as the ComicBook/GreenArrow in order to help Oliver 'prove' to Lois that he and Green Arrow are two different people. Lois (who was dating Oliver at the time) plants a kiss on her hero -- only to realize her mistake as Oliver appears. Oliver would later repay the favour to Clark in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E07Identity Identity]]" when Jimmy Olsen put two-and-two together. However, Jimmy didn't kiss him.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: They always use {{One Word Title}}s. PlayedWith in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E11E12AbsoluteJustice Absolute Justice]]", the two-hour special. But then again, it ''was'' a double-length episode, but played straight when you consider that the two individual episodes "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E11E12AbsoluteJustice Absolute Justice]]" is comprised of are named "Society" and "Legends", and thus stick to using one-word titles. It also forced them coming up with more and more elaborate synonyms for "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E04Red Red]]". Like "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E13Crimson Crimson]]".
* IdiotBall: This also has the UnfortunateImplications to often be combined with HystericalWoman. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E19Nemesis Nemesis]]", a military officer who is able to conduct CIA style informational espionage kidnaps Lex and rigs 5 miles of explosives because she knows her husband is alive.
* IfICantHaveYou: An astounding number of meteor freaks who pursued Lana had this as a modus operandi.
** Davis, who was apparently A-OK with burying himself alive to stop his SuperpoweredEvilSide from rampaging around the world, but only if Chloe loved him. [[MurderTheHypotenuse If not...]]
** Spoken word-for-word by Conner on red kryptonite towards Lois in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E16Scion Scion]]".
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Or so Lana tells Clark (regarding Lex) in Season Eight's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]".
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Since possession and other influence causing a main character to temporarily become an opponent is very common; the phrase is often spoken but it is usually not much of a fight.
** Subverted in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E08Bloodline Bloodline]]" when Faora has possessed Lois and is attacking Clark:
--->'''Clark:''' Lois, stop!\\
'''Faora:''' Lois can't hear you.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E11Legion Legion]]", there isn't much of a fight between Clark and Chloe (possessed by Brainiac) because Brainiac knows Clark can't bring himself to hit Chloe. He even taunts Clark about it.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E18Booster Booster]]", ComicBook/BoosterGold successfully talks down Jaime Reyes when he is taken over by the ComicBook/BlueBeetle scarab, proving to Clark that he is a true hero after all.
** Played straight in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]" when Oliver attacks Clark at his wedding while being controlled by ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} and Clark successfully talks him down.
* ImmuneToFate: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E12Hereafter Hereafter]]", a boy named Jordan can foresee the death of anyone he touches but is powerless to change it. When he touches Clark he doesn't see a death, however, just Clark going on "forever". Then Clark proceeds to save someone from the death that Jordan has foreseen. This leads them to conclude that Clark has the power to change predestined events.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Many characters die this way: it seems everyone is MadeOfPlasticine and metal rods (however blunt) ''will'' punch right through you as if you were made of tissue paper.
* ImportantHaircut:
** Lionel Luthor has his head shaved at the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E22Covenant Covenant]]", the season finale of the third season, while we're shown his son choking to death on poisoned wine and Chloe Sullivan being blown up. The dramatic effect was somewhat lessened the next season when it turned out that they had both miraculously survived, and one of the attempted murders hadn't even been committed by Lionel.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E13Power Power]]", Lana chops off some hair after her TrainingFromHell, to signify she has TakeALevelInBadass.
* ImprobableAimingSkills
** ComicBook/GreenArrow is an impressive shot, able to shoot a specific country on a globe or into the opening of a soda can.
** Dark Archer, Green Arrow's EvilCounterpart has similarly impressive aiming.
** Clark hardly ever misses, whether he throws a football, basketball, bowling ball, knife, can, anything. He even ''[[ShootTheBullet shoots a bullet out of the air]]'' with his heat vision. It is implied that his talent comes from his powers, as in one episode where he was BroughtDownToNormal, he found that he now sucked at basketball. Heat vision is also hard to miss when you are faster than the speeding bullet and all you need to do is look directly at your target.
** ComicBook/BlackCanary had deadly accuracy with her throwing knives.
** ComicBook/{{Deadshot}}, naturally. He once shot two officers simultaneously, with the bullets curving past either side of Chloe's face.
* InformedWrongness: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E15Conspiracy Conspiracy]]", the VillainOfTheWeek Dr. Chisholm sounds like just another [[ConspiracyTheorist 'alien-conspiracy' nutcase]] killing off helpless Kandorians who just want to live peacefully among humans but whom he fears are part of an AlienInvasion. Good thing the cruel and horrific experiments the 'peaceful' Kandorians performed on him and other humans to regain their Kryptonian powers so they could TakeOverTheWorld [[OffstageVillainy occurred offscreen]] or they'd seem more like {{asshole victim}}s. Even Clark called them out on that one, saying that human beings are not their personal guinea pigs. Part of his agreement to help was because they were his people.
* InNameOnly:
** While Smallville is full of different takes on the featured comic book characters, Cat Grant is absolutely nothing like her comic book counterpart. In the comics, she started out as a promiscuous gossip columnist and later became a cougar with breast implants and low cut blouses where the TV version actually spells the word "sex" at one point because she's too uptight to say it and is actually kind of pudgy and conservatively dressed. All this to turn her into a [[StrawCharacter Straw Conservative]] where the comic book version couldn't care less about politics.
** Slade bears very little resemblance to his comic book counterpart, ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}. He's actually much closer personality-wise to [[GeneralRipper Wade Eiling]] or Marvel's [[ComicBook/XMen Senator Kelly]].
* InformedAttribute: Throughout Season 9, Zod frequently claims that Kryptonians have superior intelligence to humans, despite the fact that they juggle the IdiotBall and VillainBall nearly all series long and make a symphony of blunders and bad decisions.
* InsaneTrollLogic:
** Albeit not as strong of an example as others have been, one episode has Jimmy figuring out Clark's secret as a vigilante. The general train of logic goes something like this. Jimmy takes picture of blurred red figure (Clark saving both him and Lois from a mugger using superspeed in his typical red jacket), Smallville has people being saved from various "accidents" (past episode kinds of things), then after seeing a picture of Clark in his red jacket, thinks Clark is the vigilante. While the end conclusion is correct, the train of logic/actions taken to figure this out is wildly weird. It's reasonable to start looking in Smallville first, seeing that most of the incidents occurred over in that area. But the real head turner is how he managed to pinpoint Clark of all people as the Blur. [[SarcasmMode Because he's clearly the only person on the planet who wears a freaking red jacket.]]
** Lana’s notion in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E13Power Power]]" that she had finally become Clark's equal after gaining power through selfishness, money, lies, and near suicide.
** Pete in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E15Nicodemus Nicodemus]]". Just watch his thought process when he came to the conclusion that if he killed Lex Luthor, Chloe would like him.
* InSeriesNickname:
** Lois usually calls Clark "Smallville", but "[[EmbarrassingNickname Clarky]]" on rare occasions. Lois almost always just call Chloe "cous" (as in, "cousin") or "Chlo,"[[note]]Many FanFic writers picked this up to use as an AffectionateNickname from whoever they are pairing Chloe with[[/note]] or more rarely "Goldilocks". She once calls Jimmy "Baby Bear", and he is not happy.
** Chloe sometimes calls Lois "Lo".
** Jimmy sometimes calls Chloe "[[AffectionateNickname Brighteyes]]". And yes, she has eyes that you can't stop staring at.
** Chloe's boss at the Daily Planet used to call her "Chloster". Jimmy picked it up. She is not amused.
--->'''Chloe:''' How much blunt trauma do you think a stapler to the back of the head would cause?
** The names ComicBook/MartianManhunter and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} starts out as Chloe's nickname for them in ''Smallville''. She is also known for calling Clark the Man of Steel.
** Oliver started the tradition of calling Clark "Boy Scout" and Bart "Impulse". Bizarrely, Brainiac sometimes also call him that, but he always refer to him as Kal-El face to face.
* InstantExpert: Lana's martial arts skills. She was trained by Lex in the early seasons and worked out much like Tess did later, including wearing boxing gloves and hitting the heavy bag. The episode we see Lana being trained by Lex has her facing a guy who'd been threatening her, and kicking him so hard he's knocked into a table and ends up unconscious. She couldn't have had more than a few days practice with Lex until that point. Basically anything Lana tries, she becomes this. Even when she gains Clark's abilities she knows how to use them instantly; it took Clark years to master his powers. This is especially jarring since Eric Summers didn't instantly master those abilities.
* InstantSedation: Has happened multiple times to almost every female regular, but the hands-down winners are Chloe, Lana, and Lois. Basically, if you're a female character who's attracted to Clark, chances are it'll happen to you. Combines naturally with DamselInDistress for maximum effect.
* InterchangeableAsianCultures: Isobel finds ''a sai'' in a Chinese temple in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E15Sacred Sacred]]".
* InterclassFriendship:
** The relationship between alien farm boy Clark Kent and human billionaire Lex Luthor actually starts with the two future arch-enemies being friends. Pretty much everybody was sceptical of the two being friends since Lex was a Luthor. Despite that, Clark did genuine consider Lex a friend and was his confidant. Sadly, the two do have a falling out thanks to all the lies and secrets being too much.
** By the time Clark and Lex's friendship was falling apart, rich boy Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow enter to be Clark's new ally. Though, it does start out rough and the two did have a falling out after Ollie killed Lex. They do make up and Ollie actually becomes Clark's best man at his wedding to Lois.
* InterspeciesRomance: Clark and any of his girlfriends, as well as Bizarro/Lana. Other Kryptonian-human relationships also apply. It helps that they are {{Human Alien|s}}.
* IntrepidReporter: The show is saturated with these. Chloe and later Lois and Clark are the most prominent examples.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifter:
** Davis is actually Doomsday in disguise, and gradually loses control over his alter ego.
** This also happens to Bizarro as well whenever he's exposed to sunlight, revealing his true nature as a Phantom who stole some of Clark's DNA in order to gain his appearance.
* IronicEcho:
** Listen to Clark's explanation to Lana in seasons 1-3 about why he can’t be truthful. Then listen to Lana’s explanation to Adam about why she left Paris.
** After Lionel puts Lex in Belle Reeve for electrotherapy, watching him in a straitjacket from behind two-way glass, it's Lex's turn to watch Lionel in a straitjacket from behind two-way glass after having one of the season's {{MacGuffin}}s on his person when it activates causes him to go catatonic. [[CallBack They even keep the camera angles and everything.]]
** After all the grief Clark gets for not telling Lana the truth about himself, the end of season 5 has Lex developing similar powers from a syringe by Brainiac, to prepare him to be Zod's vessel. He then goes on to rub it in everyone's faces by reusing Clark's reasons when he tells Lana.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E03Hothead Hothead]]":
*** When Coach Arnold is trying to convince Clark to join the football team, he tells him football is in his genes. In the final act, after Arnold witnesses Clark walk through a wall of fire unscathed and asks how he did so, Clark remarks "It's in the genes."
*** After insulting Dominic and two other [=LuthorCorp=] employees, Lex dismissively tells them "This meeting is adjourned." Later, after Lionel bests Lex in their fencing match and orders him to fire 20% of his employees, he tells Lex "Meeting adjourned."
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E12Leech Leech]]", after beating the Hardwicks, Lex remarks to Sir Harry, "That's what you get when you trust family" (because Sir Harry sent Victoria to [[HoneyTrap get cozy with Lex so she could dig up information]] he could use in his takeover of [=LuthorCorp=]). In the final act, Lionel tells Lex the exact same thing... right before Lex receives evidence that he set up the whole thing.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E23Exodus Exodus]]", when Pete enters the Kawatche Caves [[TheBait to distract Lionel]] so Clark can SuperSpeed in and swipe the Kryptonite key, Pete tells the guards who apprehend him "You know you hate [Lionel]," to which Lionel remarks he knows they hate him and that hatred and anger is a weakness. After Lionel finds the Kryptonite key missing and suspects that Pete stole it, he prepares to strike Pete after he plays dumb, at which point Pete reminds him, "Careful, Mr. Luthor; you wouldn't want to look weak."
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E11Delete Delete]]", computer genius Molly asks ComicBook/LexLuthor how he found her. He shrugs and says "Birds of a feather." Later, when Clark walks in to search for the CD containing the program she's been using to hurt his friends, Lex has already surreptitiously stolen it. When Molly responds with shock and asks "How did you get that?" he replies "Birds of a feather."
* IsNothingSacred: In the episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E13Hero Hero]]".
-->'''Clark:''' I found the source of Pete's powers. Kryptonite-enhanced gum. I found a whole stockpile.\\
'''Chloe:''' Chewing gum? Is nothing sacred anymore?
* ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals: It rained heavily during the funeral of Whitney's father, but for everyone else, it was a subversion. It snowed at Jonathan Kent's funeral; It was a bright sunny day at Henry James "Jimmy" Olsen's funeral; and it was also sunny at Carter Hall's funeral in Egypt in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E10Luthor Luthor]]", albeit was held indoors.
* ItsAllMyFault: Clark keeps blaming himself for the damages and conditions that resulted from the meteor shower that he arrived in, even though he had absolutely no control over the situation. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6z8EPJyb1U He says this often.]]
* ItsAWonderfulPlot: When Clark received a message in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E18Apocalypse Apocalypse]]" telling him that Brainiac is going to the past to erase him from history, he thinks the world might be better off that way. Jor-El shows him what life would be like for everyone if he hadn't made it to Earth.
* IvyLeagueForEveryone: Clark has a scout from freakin Princeton come to see him in a season 4 episode...for football, even though Princeton isn't known for its football program. Thankfully the show actually subverts this.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: The show tends has a lot of this going around in the early seasons. Typically, whenever Lana has moved on from Clark and entered a new relationship, Clark will often be seen sadly saying something along these lines. Meanwhile, this is also Chloe's attitude towards Clark's attraction to Lana. Taken UpToEleven in season five, in which both of them [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex complain to her about their sex life]], then Clark decides to tell Lana his secret and proposes to her. Clark thinks Chloe would say they are too young and whatnot, but instead she provides her support and encouragement. Chloe supportively says "If there's anyone who deserves to be happy, Clark, it's you."And this, in turn, was ''also'' Pete's attitude towards Chloe's teenage crush on Clark during the early seasons of the show. Thankfully, everyone involved eventually moved on to much healthier relationships.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:K to L]]
* KarmaHoudini:
** Lex and Oliver after it was revealed in the Season 6 episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E05Reunion Reunion]]" that he indirectly causes the death of one of the classmates that he bullied though no one calls him out on it, not even Clark.
** Lana Lang is probably the ultimate example of this. She has kidnapped and tortured an old man, ran a shadow organization, spied on an old lover, beat him senseless, knocked out people at a major press [[DisproportionateRetribution who will not run one of her stories]], released Brainiac into the world, and got away with it all as she did it to help the person she loved.
* KarmicTransformation: The Meteor Freaks often have their powers be related to something that they are in contact with or close to during the exposure to the meteors. Like Coach Arnold who got his PlayingWithFire powers during a sauna or Desirée Atkins who got her LivingAphrodisiac powers while she was having sex with her boyfriend.
* KeepingSecretsSucks: Lana's motto, which she repeated to Clark over and over from Seasons 2 through 6... not that it stopped ''her'' from keeping her own big secrets during that time period. Chloe in particular gets a lot of pressure from Lana when the latter (finally) figures out Chloe is protecting Clark.
* KickTheDog: Lex does this more and more as the years go by: he begins lying, cheating, and stealing to get his hands on the Kryptonian artifacts, and the following season begins kidnapping and torturing superpowered characters. He also sends a band of superpowered murderers to kidnap the Kents and Lana in a selfish (and dangerous) attempt to force Clark to reveal his powers against his will (this ends up destroying his friendship with Clark once Clark finds out it was Lex who orchestrated the whole thing), and eventually Lex begins murdering people to get what he wants.
* KilledOffForReal:
** Main/recurring characters who died include Whitney Fordman, Dr. Virgil Swann, Jason and Genevieve Teague, Sheriff Nancy Adams, Jonathan Kent, Lionel Luthor, Henry James "Jimmy" Olsen, and Davis Bloome.
** Lex was thought to likely be a case of NotQuiteDead or NeverFoundTheBody. It turns out that Lex really ''was'' dead after Oliver killed him; Earth-2 Lionel Luthor, however, brought him back through a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Darkseid]], at the cost of his ''own'' life and soul.
* KlingonPromotion: By Season 7, Lex really, really wants to be evil. But he just can't pull it off convincingly. The solution? Kill the [[BigBad biggest baddie]] around, Lionel Luthor. Also a case of DyingToBeReplaced.
* KneelBeforeZod:
** Naturally. In the case of the season six premiere when Zod is introduced, Clark responds with an instance of ISurrenderSuckers. And in the Season 9 finale, the {{Trope Namer|s}} himself turns it into a BadassBoast:
--->'''Zod:''' Unlike you, I would rule from a throne, not the shadows. Every human on this planet, including the woman you love, will kneel before Zod!
** Flipped in Season 9, when Major Zod commands his troops to "Kneel before Kal-El".
* KryptoniteIsEverywhere: [[UpToEleven Brought up to ridiculous levels.]] The meteor shower in Smallville made it so Kryptonite can show up anywhere and with anyone.
* KungFuSonicBoom: Whenever Kryptonians battle.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia:
** All the time in the early seasons, it is a convenient cop-out whenever ''anyone'' discovers Clark's powers they get hit by this, if not [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade outright dying]]. It doesn't matter how you found out, what you saw, or what he did under the influence of this week's {{phlebotinum}}. Your memory ''will be wiped'', often without explanation. In later seasons, nearly every important cast member but Lex is in the know, so there's less need for this. The superhero cameos learn quickly, but keep the secret since they're on the same side.
** In [[Recap/SmallvilleS01E01Pilot the very first episode]], Jeremy forgets everything after [[PsychoElectro electrocuting]] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard himself]].
** Lana, Jonathan, and Pete forget everything after they are cured of the Nicodemus flower's toxin.
** Chloe forget all about Clark's secret after the parasite inside her is removed.]]
** Judging by what happened to Lois's memory after her LovePotion wore off, the writers seem to think that all drugs erase your memory.
** We've lost count of the number of times a bump on the head has wiped Lana's memory of seeing some super-heroics.
** However, one notable subversion to all this is Javier Ramirez in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E09Subterranean Subterranean]]", who does find out and does not get amnesia by the end of the episode.
** In a rare example of plot-central, rather than "convenient", amnesia, Season 3 has Lex undergo a mind-wipe disguised as electroshock therapy for his supposed schizophrenia.
** Lois and Sheriff Adams see Clark use his powers in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E19Blank Blank]]". Luckily, the [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual metahuman]] he just met can erase the last few moments of someone's memory and he owes Clark a favor.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E15Freak Freak]]", Daniel and later Chloe has their memory of Lex's secret lab wiped after being experimented on. After the viewers see the trauma Chloe goes through as Lex's lab rat, it's possibly [[IgnoranceIsBliss best for her to forget]].
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
** At the end of the two-part pilot, Jonathan asks Clark if he'll be okay. Clark asks him to get back to him in about five years. The line makes no sense (a high-school-aged teenager would be thinking in four-year increments if anything) except as a reference to the amount of time needed to complete the 100-episode minimum necessary for effective second-run syndication. This is confirmed in the DVD commentary, in which the producers joke that it would have been too obvious to have Clark say "Ask me again in a hundred episodes."
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E21Tempest Tempest]]", Remy Zero appears as themselves and plays "Save Me" for the high school dance. Clark and his friends comment, "These guys are awesome."
** [[Recap/SmallvilleS08E11Legion Legion]]" did this a lot. For example, surprised at Clark not being Superman, Lightning Lad expresses dislike at the "No tights, no flights!", and they mention that they've never heard of [[CanonImmigrant Chloe]]. Possibly also a MythologyGag in reference to the Legion visiting Comicbook/PostCrisis Superman for the first time and being surprised at how he was not the Superman they were expecting. That story was a pivotal attempt at explaining how the Legion could remain non-retconned after the retconning of Superman removed his Superboy adventures. It didn't work.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E05Thirst Thirst]]", Clark tells Professor Milton Fine, who is played by Creator/JamesMarsters (who also played the vampire Spike on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'') about the vampires, to which Fine replies "Clark, there's no such thing as vampires". The name of the chief vampire in the episode is Buffy Saunders.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E15Fortune Fortune]]", during Clark and Lois' engagement party, Oliver Queen makes the toast: "They've finally realised what the rest of us have known for a very long time."
* LetsSplitUpGang: Clark and Kara in the S&M club in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E03Supergirl Supergirl]]".
* LetsYouAndHimFight: How the first meeting between Clark and another superhero usually goes.
* LightningCanDoAnything:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E12Leech Leech]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E09Asylum Asylum]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E07Wrath Wrath]]", GreenRocks and lightning team up for PowersAsPrograms.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E16Crisis Crisis]]": Lightning, GreenRocks and a telephone line lets you ''call back in time''.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E14Tomb Tomb]]". Substitute the telephone line for a dead body hidden in the Talon bathroom wall, [[OurGhostsAreDifferent and poof, instant ghost]].
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: Isn't it a little peculiar how much Lex's mother looked a lot like, and sounded a lot like, Lana?
* LimbSensationFascination: One episode has Lionel and Clark switch bodies; Lionel then admires his new body in a mirror.
* LimitedWardrobe: A side-effect of ColourCodedForYourConvenience -- Clark's blue shirt and red jacket combo. Every time he wears something else, he's probably at work, it's a special occasion, or he is evil/"dead".
** [[LampshadeHanging It got to the point]] where, in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E07Identity Identity]]", Jimmy caught the red/blue blur on his camera and came to the conclusion that it was Clark going around saving people, just based on the colors. The episode also included a scene where Clark gets all his clothes out to sort the red and blue ones from the rest and dispose of them, only to discover that they are all red and blue.
** By Season 9, Clark doesn't wear any red and blue on his uniform, though sometimes in his everyday clothes.
** Perhaps made fun of in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E13Warrior Warrior]]", where Clark goes to the ''Smallville'' universe's version of Comic-Con. We see somebody wearing what looks like Clark's red and blue. This would mark the first time Clark has worn red and blue since "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E22Doomsday Doomsday]]" (the Season Eight finale, which was over eleven episodes ago)... if it weren't for the fact we see Clark bump into the guy wearing what looks like his old outfit, and is wearing his ''Daily Planet'' suit.
** Clark was in a major funk after the episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E22Doomsday Doomsday]]", feeling responsible for the death of Henry Olsen and regretting his humanity, so he took on an all-black motif until early in season 10 where he is wearing at least maroon and blue.
* LiteralChangeOfHeart:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E04Cure Cure]]", Knox tries to do this to Chloe.
** Darkseid takes Lionel's heart out and plants it in the Lex clone's body.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters
** In addition to the main cast, you have other Creator/{{DC|Comics}} characters, {{Canon Foreigner}}s who have important roles, [[Characters/SmallvilleMeteorFreaks Freaks of the Week]], [[Characters/SmallvillePhantomZone Phantom Zone escapees]], and dozens of high school students, Smallville citizens and Daily Planet staff members. Since it lasted 10 years, that's a pretty big cast. According to the [[TheWikiRule Smallville wiki]], throughout the series there are 18 main characters, 170 recurring characters and 341 minor characters, with a total of a staggering '''529''' characters.
* LonersAreFreaks:
** Most loners turn out to become [[Characters/SmallvilleMeteorFreaks Freaks of the Week]], though a fair number of popular kids in that show turned out to be evil too.
** Subverted in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E11Hug Hug]]", with Lana and Whitney automatically assuming that the local hermit is responsible for Lana falling off her horse simply because he happened to be around at the time (Lana so strongly believes in his guilt that she turns on Clark when he isn't prepared to judge as quickly). As it turns out, it really was just an accident and the episode's true villain is a FauxAffablyEvil CorruptCorporateExecutive who prides himself on (pretending to) being everyone's buddy.
* {{Long Runner|s}}: After running for ten years, ''Smallville'' beat ''Series/StargateSG1'' as the longest running American Sci-Fi show[[note]] It surpassed it on May 6, 2011, and the series GrandFinale aired a week later on the 13th[[/note]] . The difference in length is only ''three'' episodes, however, and the ''SG-1'' movies ''[[Film/StargateContinuum Continuum]]'' and ''Film/TheArkOfTruth'' put it over the top if counted.
* LossOfInhibitions:
** This is the effect of Red Kryptonite on humans and Kryptonians. It is especially bad when it happens to Clark is his powers combined with a lack of inhibitions make him very, very dangerous.
** The episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E15Nicodemus Nicodemus]]" has a scientist use Green Kryptonite to resurrect a toxic flower which has been extinct for 100 years. If someone is sprayed by the flower's toxic mist, they lose all of their inhibitions. Jonathan, Lana and Pete are all infected with the flower's toxins and begin to act dangerously OutOfCharacter; Lana becomes more outgoing to the point of suicidal recklessness, Pete reveals his feelings for Chloe and tries to kill Lex and Jonathan tries to kill an employee at the bank who turned him down for a loan.
* LoveAtFirstSight: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E03Fierce Fierce]]", Kara has an immediate crush on Jimmy Olsen that triggers her heat vision, which is caused by sexual thoughts.
* LovePotion: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E04Devoted Devoted]]" has a slight twist on the usual formula, as anyone who already has a true love grows even more devoted to the person they're infatuated with.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:M to N]]
* {{MacGuffin}}: The show loved this trope. Almost every season features at least one object--often of Kryptonian origin--that various characters would be jockeying for control of, due to the perception that it would either grant them power or help them solve some mystery. Season 4's plot was especially centered around this trope, as Lex, Lionel, Genevieve Teague, Jason Teague, Lana, Lana's undead witch ancestor Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, Dr. Swann's foundation, and even a rogue unit of Chinese soldiers all start plotting and feuding with each other and tripping all over themselves to track down the Stones of Power, which combine to form the Fortress of Solitude. Clark is [[{{RefusedTheCall}} reluctant]] to jump into the middle of this, as [[{{IJustWantToBeNormal}} his life now has some semblance of normalcy]] for once, but [[{{ResignedToTheCall}} circumstances and Jor-El essentially force him to hunt down the Stones himself]], because--in Jor-El's words--if any of these factions unite the Stones before he does, they could very well be overwhelmed by the temptation to misuse the Fortress's power. Jor-El fears that this would lead to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* MadeOfIron
** Every single character who does have NighInvulnerability powers suffers from this, easily recovering from beatings, gunshot wounds, and [[HardHead blows to the head]].
** Jason Teague in Season 4 might be the best example He's shot by Lionel and [[DisneyDeath falls off of a cliff and into a waterfall]]. [[NotQuiteDead He somehow recovers enough to arrive at the Kent farmhouse, take them hostage, and then doesn't go down until he's been hit by a meteor.]]
** Chloe Sullivan once took a SuperStrength punch from Clark directly to the face.
** Lana was once beaten up by ''Zod'' and is up and about in no time.
** Lois once had her and her car thrown high into the sky then crash down courtesy of a {{Yandere}} Maxima. She barely had a scratch on her.
** Yes, he spent a few weeks in the hospital, but ComicBook/JimmyOlsen still looks pretty good for someone who has been mauled in the chest by freaking '''Doomsday'''.
** Chloe was once knocked down and [[SoftGlass showered by shattered glass, which doesn't leave a single scratch on her]]. The odd thing is, Oliver is covered in small cuts in the same scene.
** A special mention also goes to Tess, who was voluntarily killed by a defibrillator and then brought back to life with atropine. She wakes up, sits up, looks weak for about five seconds, and then walks out of the room as if she wasn't dead ten seconds earlier.
** Slade is probably the very worse case. He took a couple of hits from Hawkman's mace and somehow survives not one, but ''two'' huge explosions. The first one took one eye. The second one doesn't seem to even scratch him. Lampshaded on the second occasion - a possible explanation might be that he is under the influence of {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}.
* MagicFromTechnology: Kryptonian technology was mistaken for magic on medieval Earth, and can boost Countess Isobel's real magic somehow.
* MagicMeteor: Superman himself may not count, but the MonsterOfTheWeek was often a "meteor freak", i.e. got their power from exposure to Kryptonite. This powers didn't have anything to do with regular Kryptonian powers either.
* MagicalComputer: Much to the heroes' delight, Chloe is a hacking pro.
* MagicalDefibrillator: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E16Fever Fever]]", doctors defibrillate a flatlined patient.
* MakeWayForThePrincess:
** Invoked in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E08Spell Spell]]". Apparently this trope goes back to [[OlderThanSteam Margaret Isobel Thoreaux's time.]]
** We get the more traditional version in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E18Spirit Spirit]]". Yeah, you heard me, a ValleyGirl in ''Kansas''.
* MalfunctionMalady: How Clark discovers his super-breath. And superhearing too, if you think about it.
* ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex: Clark has the typical problem with his relationship with Lana, to the point he actually complains to poor Chloe about his sex life at one point. When Chloe wonders what the big deal is since they can shake hands and hug without Clark pulverizing her. Clark explains, rather embarrassed, that it always takes him some time to adjust his "abilities" to new circumstances. [[BrainBleach Chloe decides to cruise right past that mental image.]] The problem is eventually resolved when Clark is {{DePower}}ed and they have TheirFirstTime, but when his powers return, he's back at CantHaveSexEver. They only have sex again in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E07Wrath Wrath]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]" due to Lana gaining similar powers to his and their sex ends up being a DestructoNookie both times. Later, when he's in a relationship with Lois, he gained enough control over his abilities that the problem no longer exists. He outright states that his training at the Fortress of Solitude included learning exactly that sort of control.
* MarkedChange: Clark is branded by Jor-El, Lana getting her ancestor's witch-mark on her back.
* TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife: Many problems befalling Clark's love life stems from Clark's refusal to tell anybody about his powers, though Clark's fear is quite justified considering that superpowered individuals and their loved ones tend to get targeted by government conspiracies and mad scientists.
* MassSuperEmpoweringEvent: The [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] meteor shower in which Clark first arrived to Earth and at the same time giving many of the locals odd powers and/or [[PsychoSerum altering their personality sometimes]] and causing them to become the MonsterOfTheWeek. There are a few humans empowered by Kryptonian technology, and it's vaguely implied that there's some Kryptonian ancestry among humanity. Chloe says the meteor shower was what turned Smallville into a WeirdnessMagnet town.
-->'''Chloe:''' I call it 'The Wall of Weird.' It's every strange, bizarre, and unexplained event that's happened in Smallville since the meteor shower. That's when it all began—when the town went schizo.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E17Void Void]]" is about a serum that brings a person near death, giving them visions of their loved ones that have passed on. Which could merely be drug-induced hallucination and nothing more, but then the "vision" of Jonathan Kent tells Clark something that ''Jonathan didn't live to tell anyone''.
* MindManipulation: Several Meteor Freaks have this power, or [[MoreThanMindControl something similar]].
* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E19Blank Blank]]" starts off with the [[MonsterOfTheWeek freak of the week]] using his LaserGuidedAmnesia powers to steal money. Then Clark is wiped, and the boy's powers are revealed to be the result of a botched procedure to alter his memories after his brother was killed by a shot from his own gun. Which later turns out to be implanted memories by his father, ''who created the procedure at Summerholt''. At least there's some positive fallout, as the law finally clamps down on Summerholt in the end.
* AMinorKidroduction: The first episode's prologue is this to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] and Comicbook/LexLuthor.
* ModestyBedsheet: Sheets are extremely prevalent whenever characters sleep together.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]" has two {{Fanservice}}-heavy examples with both [[MrFanservice Clark]] and [[MsFanservice Lana]].
*** Lois finds Clark [[NakedFirstImpression naked and brainwashed on a cornfield]] and decides to take him to a hospital, but first gives Clark a red blanket for him to cover himself with. Not really [[InnocentFanserviceGuy understanding modesty in this state of mind]] he drops the sheet soon after they get to the hospital, to the annoyance of an orderly and the [[EatingTheEyeCandy joy of a nurse.]]
*** After touching Countess Isobel's tomb, Lana ends up losing consciousness and the next time she awakens [[UndressingTheUnconscious she's nude back in her bed]] with a sheet draped over, seemingly strategically placed to show as most skin as possible but still keeping the essential bits covered. When Jason starts knocking on the door she wraps the sheet around herself before getting up to answer the door.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]" begins with Lex seducing a woman during an event. They end up in bed soon after, but all the action is hidden by the bedsheet. When he wakes up the morning after, he [[TheMurderAfter finds her dead body next to him]] both of them still covered by a bloodied bedsheet.
** Clark and Lana both share a modesty duvet the morning after they had TheirFirstTime in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E03Hidden Hidden]]". We see Clark [[RightThroughHisPants was wearing boxer shorts]] when he gets out of bed.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E01Bizarro Bizarro]]", when Chloe comes BackFromTheDead thanks to her [[HealingFactor healing powers]] she [[WakingUpAtTheMorgue wakes up at a morgue]] with a bedsheet covering her.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E10Persona Persona]]"'s intro has Lana and Bizarro (who's [[BedTrick pretending to be Clark to be with Lana]]).
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E05Committed Committed]]", Oliver is seen with a sheet up to his waist in bed after his night with Tess, who's already dressed up in a robe.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]", Clark and Lana's super-powered lovemaking [[DestructoNookie breaks the bed]] but they're still both covered by the bedsheet. When Lana gets out of bed, she uses her new SuperSpeed powers to get dressed in an instant.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E21Injustice Injustice]]", Tess finds Oliver in her bedroom [[ReadyForLovemaking waiting for her naked under the bedsheets]]. But she rejects him and tells him to [[PleasePutSomeClothesOn put his pants back on]] and leave.
** During season 9 Lois starts DreamingOfThingsToCome of a BadFuture, which includes scenes of her and Clark having sex, but still covered with bedsheets even in her dream. When they do end up sleeping together, we see Lois getting up and dragging the sheet along with her as she walks to the balcony. Clark hugs her from behind soon, wearing pants put still {{shirtless|scene}} as they watch the sunset together.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E16Escape Escape]]", Tess and Zod [[UnholyMatrimony sexually charged "partnership"]] finally ends with them in bed, where we see them after the act under a red satin bedsheet.
** When Tess is BackFromTheDead in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E01Lazarus Lazarus]]", she awakens at Cadmus Labs with nothing but a hospital sheet covering, which she quickly replaces with a lab coat.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E10Luthor Luthor]]", when Clark Kent wakes up in another reality in the body of his Earth-2 counterpart he finds himself in a BedFullOfWomen with everyone covered up by a bedsheet.
** Oliver and Chloe are under a blanket after they have sex in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E13Beacon Beacon]]".
* MomentKiller
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E10Shimmer Shimmer]]", Lionel drops in on Lex as the latter's in the middle of making out with Victoria.
** Done to an extreme in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E21Tempest Tempest]]": after building up for several episodes, Chloe and Clark is about to kiss at the dance before being interrupted by a tornado warning.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]", a mother and her kids appear when Chloe and Clark are, er, alone in the elevator.
--->'''Chloe:''' [[BlatantLies Nothing was happening! We weren't doing anything!]]
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E10Bride Bride]]": Clark and Lois are about to kiss for the first time, "officially", when there is a shout of "Oh my god!" and Clark's ex, Lana Lang, walks in.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E04Instinct Instinct]]": Lois interrupts Clark and Maxima's [[ElevatorGoingDown wild romp in the elevator]], which actually manages to break off Clark from the lust daze [[LivingAphrodisiac Maxima's kiss]] put him in.
* MonsterOfTheWeek:
** The show has [[GreenRocks Meteor Freak of the Week]], mutants created by kryptonite. Season 6 also gave us the Phantom Zone escapees-of-the-week. As the series has progressed, it has much more of a StoryArc, but often keeps the Monster of the Week format.
** It also had an interesting variation starting in Season 4: ''Hero'' of the Week. Every season would have about two or three episodes where a superhero or two from the comics would guest star, run amuck, get on Clark's bad side, then ultimately they'd make their peace and help each other out before leaving in a manner that some could interpret as a PoorlyDisguisedPilot.
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Metropolis University must be the world's leading college for obtaining a MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate, because almost every single doctor appearing on the show is either evil or a WellIntentionedExtremist doing unethical experiments ForScience (or, y'know, in return for Luthor money). Even a regular medical doctor Helen Bryce turned out to be evil in Season 3.
* MoralMyopia: In Hero Chloe goes to Lex's office and yells at him about stealing her files despite the fact that she has repeatedly stole information in the past.
* {{Mordor}}: The Phantom Zone is a desolate wasteland populated by Krypton's worst criminals, many of whom are Phantoms, seeking new bodies. Nothing grows, the wind always blows at gale force, and the terrain is treacherous. It actually gets worse in Season 10, when General Zod seizes control of it in the name of ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} and carves out a hollow empire from it ruins, forces many of the residents into his army, and institutes a brutal series of gladiatorial games that prune out those who nature and their fellow criminals have missed.
* MotiveDecay:
** Jason Teague. He goes from refusing to help his mother after learning she may be manipulating him and Lana, to being a fully clued-in accomplice to her plan and treated as though he always was. It smacks of rushing him out of the show.
** Similarly, Davis Bloome's transition from good-hearted paramedic to completely-unstable killer that murders Jimmy when he realizes Chloe doesn't love him reeks of contrivance, simply to make Clark leave at the end of Season 8 because HumansAreTheRealMonsters. Many people were upset, including Sam Witwer.
* MrFanservice: Several of the male characters are quite attractive and have a few {{fanservice}} scenes, even many of the SpecialGuest or MonsterOfTheWeek characters. The most notable recurring examples are:
** Clark (Creator/TomWelling) is a [[{{Hunk}} handsome man with an impressive built]] and has a fair amount of {{shirtless scene}}s and plenty of FemaleGaze on him throughout all 10 seasons. In the very first episode, Clark is stripped to his underwear, tied to a symbolic cross, painted with a giant S on his chest, and left to hang there, sweating and helpless due to the Kryptonite around his neck, which even became the [[FanserviceCover image on the First Season box cover]].
** Oliver Queen (Creator/JustinHartley) is a handsome [[TheCasanova womanizer]] who gets plenty of {{fanservice}} scenes, is often {{shirtless|scene}} and gets quite a few WorkoutFanservice moments.
* MsFanservice: Just like MrFanservice, several of the female characters apply, including many SpecialGuest or MonsterOfTheWeek. The most notable recurring examples are:
** Lana (Creator/KristinKreuk) is a HeadTurningBeauty that has most of the cast attracted to her, and the story doesn't shy away from showing off her body, including not one but two instances of SkinnyDipping with Clark. This became played up even more after season's 4 when she started to get gratuitous {{Shower Scene}}s and is shown [[SleepsInTheNude sleeping naked]].
** Smallville's Lois Lane (Creator/EricaDurance) is one of the most sexed-up versions of the character, with the story constantly having her in {{fanservice}}y situations that show off [[ShesGotLegs her shapely legs]], [[BuxomIsBetter buxom figure]] and [[BareYourMidriff toned abs]]. She also wore an impressive collection of SexyWhateverOutfit and FanserviceCostumes throughout her time in the show. [[http://doena-journal.net/en/577/lois-lanes-costumes Case in point]].
** Kara Zor-El's (Creator/LauraVandervoort) casual attire [[BareYourMidriff shows her midriff]] and [[ShesGotLegs legs]] and even ends up winning a BeautyContest.
** Tess Mercer (Creator/CassidyFreeman) is an extremely attractive woman and [[ProudBeauty she knows it]]. Her outfit diverges from [[WomanOfWealthAndTaste elegant clothing]] to practical [[FormFittingWardrobe skin-tight outfits]], as she has a lot of scenes with her [[WorkoutFanservice practicing or working out]] to show off her physical prowess and athletic figure.
* MundaneUtility: Clark has been known to use his powers for several mundane tasks such as using [[EyeBeams heat vision]] to make toast, popcorn, heat drinks and light candles; using his SuperSpeed to clean up or run to school whenever he misses the bus, in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E09Lexmas Lexmas]]", Chloe recruited him Clark for an to deliver Christmas presents to thousands of children in Metropolis; he uses SuperStrength to drive nails with his bare hands, plant fence posts, and lift cars and tractors instead of using a jack; even using his XRayVision to locate the fish in a fishing trip with his father. During one of Clark's more JerkAss moments, he actually accused Jonathan and Martha of exploiting his abilities to keep the farm running more cheaply and efficiently than hiring extra hands or buying new farm equipment. JerkAssHasAPoint is [[ZigZaggingTrope Ziz-Zagged]], as the chores his parents give are typical farm labor, and could be done perfectly well with the tools on hand, Clark's abilities just let him do them faster and more efficiently.
* TheMultiverse: As of 2019, Smallville was retroactively added to the [[Series/{{Arrowverse}} Arrowverse]] as Earth-167, and this version of Clark Kent and Lois Lane appeared in the CrisisCrossover ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019''.
* MythologyGag: The show has ''countless'' references to the comic book continuity and Superman mythos.
** Clark considering naming his dog Krypto. Another possible name is Skip. In the Silver Age Superboy comics, Krypto goes by the name "Skipper" as an ordinary Earth dog.
** Creator/AnnetteOToole cast as Martha Kent after playing ComicBook/LanaLang in [[Film/{{Superman}} the movie series]]; Creator/ChristopherReeve, Creator/HelenSlater, and Creator/MargotKidder guest spots. Creator/TerenceStamp voicing Jor-El.
** Music/JohnWilliams theme [[MusicalNod played during the final scene]] of the GrandFinale. In fact, both Williams' Superman and Fortress themes were used in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E17Rosetta Rosetta]]".
** Creator/DeanCain of ''Series/LoisAndClark'' has made a guest appearance, and Creator/TeriHatcher appeared as Lois' mom in Season 10.
** ''Series/WonderWoman'''s Creator/LyndaCarter showing up as Chloe's mom.
** Several references are made to [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]].
*** Carter Bickson from the Deletion Force mentioned that there was a Level Three facility in Gotham City. ("Chronicle")
*** Oliver Queen's friend Geoffrey says he has to return to Gotham right before he gets in his limo. It then explodes. ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E05Reunion Reunion]]")
*** Linda Lake taunts Chloe by saying she can see Gotham from her new office. ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E10Hydro Hydro]]")
** Bart Allen, the Smallville-verse Franchise/TheFlash, has fake [=IDs=] in the names of all the other [[Franchise/TheDCU DC Universe]] Flashes (Wally West, Barry Allen and Jay Garrick) in his first appearance. Now flash forward to The JSA in Season 9 and Jay Garrick...
** In the final season Chloe mentioned a "[[Franchise/WonderWoman wondrous woman]]" and "[[Franchise/{{Batman}} a billionaire with lots of neat toys]]".
** The Season 3 ep "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E16Crisis Crisis]]", which actually references a teen crisis hotline, while nodding at how Creator/DCComics really likes the word 'ComicBook/{{crisis|OnInfiniteEarths}}'.
** A Brainiac-infected Chloe is a lot like the Brainiac-13-infected Lena Luthor and [[ComicBook/KingdomCome Brainiac's Daughter]].
* NakedOnArrival: Happens to both the fake Kara and Clark when Jor-El sents then to Earth in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E22Covenant Covenant]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]" respectively, both done for the [[NakedOnRevival "rebirth" aspect]]. They both crash into Earth via lightning bolt stark naked and [[InnocentFanserviceGirl completely uncaring about their nudity]] until they find someone who insists they PleasePutSomeClothesOn.
* NakedFirstImpression: Happens oddly often in the show:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E02Metamorphosis Metamorphosis]]", Lana reminisces of the first time she met Lex—when she accidentally walked in on him and a girl SkinnyDipping.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]", Jonathan meets Clark's new HotTeacher (and Lex's new wife) when he finds her SkinnyDipping in the Luthor mansion. When she goes to talk with him [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl without bothering to covering herself up]] he quickly tells her to PleasePutSomeClothesOn. Naturally, she turns out to be the episode's MonsterOfTheWeek and [[TheVamp was invoking this to try to seduce him]].
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E22Covenant Covenant]]", Clark and the Kents first meet the fake Kara when she shows up completely naked at their doorstep.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]", Lois and Clark first meet when she finds him in a cornfield buck-naked and recently {{brainwashed}} by Jor-El. As such he [[InnocentFanserviceGuy doesn't seem to understand the concept of modesty]] and blatantly stands naked in front of an awkward Lois, who's torn between [[EatingTheEyeCandy staring]] and [[NakedNutter thinking he's not right in the head]]. She would later tease him about this in future episodes.
-->'''Lois''': My delicate feminine sensibilities weren't offended the first time I got a glimpse of, uhm, [[ICallHimMisterHappy Clark Junior]].
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E09Patriot Patriot]]", Lois first meet ComicBook/{{Mera}} who had just finished swimming, and Mera [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl has no qualms]] about changing out of her swimsuit right in front of Lois and seemingly [[TheGadfly enjoying making Lois flustered]].
* NamesTheSame: With the addition of ''Smallville'' to the ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'', there are two cases of an AlternateUniverse with the name Earth-2; the primary feature was {{evil counterpart}}s, only the asthetics are different.
* {{Nanomachines}}: Brainiac's physical form is composed of millions, possibly billions, of these.
* NetworkRedheadedStepChild: ''Smallville'' became this after Creator/TheWB was replaced by Creator/TheCW; network president Dawn Ostroff seemed to utterly despise sci-fi shows, and only kept ''Smallville'' and ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' around because they were the two highest-rated shows on her network, not out of any affection. During her tenure, half the show's budget was cut and given to her favorite shows instead, writers were often fired between seasons, and ''Smallville'' and ''Supernatural'' often received zero promotion from the network, which was way more interested in pushing shows like ''Literature/GossipGirl'' and the ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'' and ''Series/MelrosePlace'' remakes. On one occasion, the network president was questioned about this, to which she retorted "''Gossip Girl'' is the phenomenon" ...despite ''Smallville'' still being the network's rating leader.
* NeverGetsDrunk: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E16Turbulence Turbulence]]", we learn that Clark is either physically incapable or needs astronomically ''huge'' quantities to get there. Or when the alcohol is magically charmed, as in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E15Fortune Fortune]]". Also an allusion to Superman's weakness to magic.
* NeverMyFault:
** Pete blames everyone else for his problems from Lex for what his father did to Clark for having powers and not using them to help him lie cheat and steal.
** Shannon Bell, the MonsterOfTheWeek in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]" blame Lex for her ruined relationship despite the fact that she cheated on her fiancé in a one night stand with some random man she met in a bar.
* NewNeighboursAsThePlotDemands: Several SpecialGuest and MonsterOfTheWeek characters end up being long term citizens of the small town Smallville, despite usually only appearing for a single episode, with usually at least one member of the cast knowing them.
* NewSuperPower: When the series starts Clark only had the SuperSpeed, NighInvulnerability, and SuperStrength of latter-day Superman, all at a relatively reduced level owing to his being a teen. Over the series each of his abilities developed, some [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands spontaneously]], some as a [[TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening result of a condition]]. Clark getting a new power always an entire episode dedicated to it:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E04XRay X-Ray]]", has Clark gain his XRayVision spontaneously during a GymClassRopeClimb, being suddenly able to see right through Pete's skin to his muscles. Clark is so startled, he loses his grip and falls to the floor. As he recovers, he [[AccidentalPervert happens to[look right through the wall to the girls' locker room]] just in time to see Lana removing her ModestyTowel. His reaction goes from confused to [[EatingTheEyeCandy happy]] very quickly. At his parent's behest, he practices mastering at the farm's barn while using a lead box and quickly is able to control it.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]", has Clark manifest his [[EyeBeams heat vision]] which is revealed to be linked to [[DeusSexMachina his sexual arousal]]. During a sex-ed class with the new HotTeacher, Clark gets so {{distracted|ByTheSexy}} by her that he gets over-excited and unintentionally triggers his heat-vision, with the whole event [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything being purposedly reminiscent]] with a JizzedInMyPants situation. His conversation about it with his parents end up turning into a unique version of TheTalk, with Jonathan being the one to help Clark practice it until he's able to control it.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E10Whisper Whisper]]", Clark develops his SuperHearing when he's [[DisabilitySuperpower temporarily blinded]] and he retains it after he regains his sight.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E02Sneeze Sneeze]]", Clark becomes sick for the first time in his life and ends up involuntarily manifesting his SuperBreath when he sneezes, [[MalfunctionMalady which end up being a big issue]]. He retains it after getting better.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]", has Clark learning how to [[{{Flight}} fly]] during [[FlightIsTheFinalPower the climax of the final episode]], in which he uses said ability to defeat Darkseid and push Apokolips away from Earth.
** Honorable note goes to when Clark [[EasyAmnesia loses his memory]] in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E19Blank Blank]]", thus losing control of all his powers and had to relearn them.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
-->'''Brainiac:''' You've opened the portal for Zod!
** At the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]", Lionel had originally started a charity after being given a second chance in life after getting out of prison, but one encounter with Lex's EvilTwin convinced him to go back to his old ways by the time the real Lex could reach him.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E16Descent Descent]]", Clark breaks and enters into Lionel's office, tampering with evidence that could potentially link Lex.
* NoMoreForMe: Perry White does this when the Kent family tractor plummets out of the clear blue sky to smash to pieces in front of him in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E05Perry Perry]]".
* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: The designs for the Prometheus suit seemed to have only been written down on paper. So when Lana burned them, there was no way to make another.
* NoirEpisode: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E20Noir Noir]]''; black and white, period costumes, references to noir-era "Superman", a noir-ish storyline...
* NotHimself: Clark gets reprogrammed into Kal-El, complete with [[TheUnfettered full access to all his powers]] including flight; Lex, when he gets possessed by Zod; Lois when she is possessed by Faora in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E08Bloodline Bloodline]]"; Lana when the Definitely Not Good Witch takes her over; countless other examples. In fact, Clark whenever he's infected by [[GRatedDrug Red Kryptonite]].
* NotMeThisTime:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]": When Lex sleeps with a woman and he [[TheMurderAfter wakes up to find her dead body in bed next to him]] he immediately suspects Lionel is involved somehow, but Lionel assures him he's not and he's actually telling the truth.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E12Pariah Pariah]]", people start getting viciously assaulted from behind in locked rooms and other enclosed spaces. Everyone accuses Alicia Baker, as she can {{teleport|ation}} and is a previously established psycho. Alicia protests that she has been cured of her insanity, and in fact, has an alibi for one of the attempts - she was with the town sheriff. Eventually, Alicia gets assaulted and killed by the real culprit, Tim Westcott, a man with SuperStrength and the ability to transform into living sand, which was how he entered those locked rooms. When Clark found out, he [[UnstoppableRage wasn't happy...]]
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E02Sneeze Sneeze]]": Lex believes Lionel is the one that's having someone follow him, and doesn't believe when Lionel assures that it isn't.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E02Kara Kara]]": Lex is fully certain that he didn't set up the bomb in Lana's car, but bides his time in prison until Lionel sets up a fall guy.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E15Veritas Veritas]]": Lionel tells Chloe he didn't kill Patricia. But of course, she doesn't believe him, as he also killed Patricia's father.
* NotQuiteFlight: Clark still can't fly. He can, however, leap tall buildings InASingleBound. [[MythologyGag Just like the Golden Age Superman.]]
* NotWhatItLooksLike: ''Smallville'' loves this trope:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E14Rush Rush]]", Clark and Chloe are making out in the Talon when Lana walks in on them. Clark is affected by red kryptonite and Chloe an adrenaline-inducing parasite.
--->'''Clark:''' It's not what it looks like.\\
'''Chloe:''' Yeah it is, Lana. It's exactly what it looks like.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E02Gone Gone]]", Lois is impatient that Clark's shower is taking too long and barges into the bathroom to clean up at the sink, [[ShowerOfAwkward much to his embarrassment]]. He covers himself in a ModestyTowel and leaves, only to find Martha right outside the door who naturally assumes they were [[ShowerOfLove showering together]].
--->'''Lois:''' I don't understand what the big deal is. We were just taking a shower—\\
'''Clark:''' ''Showers'', we were taking separate ''showers''.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E03Fierce Fierce]]", Clark offers to let Lana stay in his house and hopefully salvage their relationship.
--->'''Clark:''' I have to warn you that my life has gotten a little more... ''[Kara walks into the room wearing a bikini]'' complicated.\\
'''Lana:''' ''[gasps and looks at Clark worriedly]'' That might be an understatement.\\
'''Clark:''' This is my ''cousin'', Kara.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E06Crossfire Crossfire]]", Oliver decides to help Mia and let her train at his home. His ex-girlfriend Lois visits just as Mia walks out of the shower in a ModestyTowel and assumes Mia is one of his one-night-stands.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E16Escape Escape]]", Lois [[MistakenForCheating catches Clark in the shower with a naked Chloe]] (she was actually [[DemonicPossession possessed by the Silver Banshee]] and was trying to seduce Clark for laughs).
* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The moment Clark made Metropolis his primary base of operations is when Clark starts to realize that the enemies he'll face are far more dangerous than your typical MonsterOfTheWeek Meteor Freaks.
* NothingPersonal
-->'''Lana:''' And then he had the nerve to say "It's nothing personal, only business."
* NotSoDifferent
** Recurring element of Lex's relationship with his father.
** Clark has a moment of this with the ComicBook/VandalSavage {{Expy}} Dr. Curtis Knox. Also an ActorAllusion because Knox is played by [[Series/LoisAndClark Dean Cain]].
--->'''Clark''': I won't let you kill anyone else. \\
'''Dr. Knox''': I'd kill a thousand more to never have to be alone. [[WhoWantsToLiveForever You don't know the pain of living centuries watching the women you love grow old and turn to dust]]! \\
'''Clark''': You and I are more alike than you think.
** Lex says this to Pete, saying he knows how it is to love someone who is still infatuated with Clark Kent. [[SubvertedTrope But considering that he drugged Lana with synthetic hormones to fake a pregnancy and trick her into marrying him, emotionally abused her, and basically showed that he didn't love her at all, it falls flat.]]
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]":
*** When Chloe [[WhatTheHellHero confronts]] Oliver for killing [[spoiler:Lex, who was actively trying to nuke Metropolis at the time]].
--->'''[[{{Hypocrite}} Chloe]]''': This is ''[[ThouShaltNotKill murder]]''.\\
'''[[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver]]''': This is ''[[IDidWhatIHadToDo justice]]''.
*** He then retaliates by pointing out that she [[spoiler:{{Mind Rape}}d a bad guy into a catatonic state to protect Clark, though it remains purposely vague whether this was because of Brainiac's influence or not.]] Either way, Chloe immediately falls silent and doesn't dispute this.
** Tess once said this of Chloe and herself.
** A rare heroic variation takes place in the Season 10 episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E04Homecoming Homecoming]]" when Brainiac 5 (fresh from his HeelFaceTurn), encourages Clark not to abandon his destiny as a hero:
--->'''Brainiac 5:''' The problem is Kal-El, you and I aren't very different. We were both created in one way or another by Jor-El, both intended to save civilizations, to bring peace to a brutal world. But neither was immune to corruption to darkness."
* NowOrNeverKiss: It takes until the end of season 5 to get one with Clark and Chloe.
* TheNthDoctor: Morgan Edge played by Rutger Hauer and then Patrick Bergin, due to Hauer being unavailable; explained through [[MagicPlasticSurgery plastic surgery]]. [[JustifiedTrope Actually justified, given the fact that the character was on the run from Lionel.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:O to P]]
* ObfuscatingDisability: Lionel Luthor. In the beginning of Season 2, a life-saving surgery left him temporarily blind. [[ThrowingOffTheDisability He eventually regained his sight]], but neglected to mention it and faked being blind for a few more weeks because people let their guard down around someone they thought couldn't see. Street-wise Lucas Luthor, however, sees through the ruse immediately upon first meeting him; Lionel pours himself some water and doesn't put his finger inside the glass to know when it's full. Lucas tests his theory later by signing "BITE ME" on an important contract instead of his name, and when Lionel couldn't hide his reaction, Lucas hurls a billiard ball at his head. Lionel reflexively dodges and is fully exposed.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E10Luthor Luthor]]", Tess and Lois somehow manage to stay alive against [[EvilTwin Earth-2 Clark]] until Oliver shows up with Kryptonite weapons, and even then, judging by the state of the three of them and the Watchtower, it must have been one hell of a fight. Arguably done on purpose to create a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} at the end, when Earth-1 Clark is transported back to Watchtower and is taken by surprise to see the place wrecked and Lois, Tess, and Ollie all aiming Kryptonite arrows at him. Clark's facial expression says it all.
* OffscreenTeleportation: Happens often with Metropolis-Smallville travel. It is usually a two-hour drive but characters come and go between both cities all the time.
* OhCrap: Let's just say that whenever a hostile Kryptonian arrives, this is the default expression of [[MassOhCrap everyone]].
** Earth2-Lionel's face says it all at the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E16Scion Scion]]" when standing next to Lex's grave, he is surrounded by black smoke that transforms into Darkseid and towers over him. Oh crap, indeed.
** Lionel Luthor gets one in "Transference" as he sees Clark coming after him in the midst of a prison riot. Even more so knowing that Lionel and Clark have switched bodies.
** An epic one from Zod at the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E22Salvation Salvation]]" when he realizes that he's just [[EngineeredPublicConfession accidentally confessed]] to killing Faora in front of his troops and later when he realizes that Clark fatally stabbed himself with the blue kryptonite dagger, so nothing could prevent Zod from being transported to New Krypton to face ''[[FateWorseThanDeath justice]]'' from his former comrades.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Emil Hamilton's official role (and actual job) on the show is as the team's [[TheMedic doctor]]. However, he's also everything from GadgeteerGenius to a biologist to [[TheCoroner coroner]] when the team needs him to be. If the team needs computer skills, they'll go to [[HollywoodHacking Chloe]] or [[TheCracker Tess]]. If they need anything else, they go to Emil.
* OnceASeason: Starting off with SuperStrength, SuperSpeed and NighInvulnerability, Clark develops and eventually masters a new superpower once a season, although some seasons skip it, since they started running out of powers to showcase. The show's promise was that {{Flight}} would not come in until the end.
* OnePersonBirthdayParty: A flashback shows that as a kid, Lex Luthor had a birthday all alone. It gave context to his [[DarkAndTroubledPast miserable childhood]] and how he developed into the adult he eventually became.
* OneSeasonAthlete: During the season covering Clark's senior year in high school he becomes a star football quarterback after not having played before (because he was hiding his powers). After that season he never plays football again.
* OneWordTitle: Every episode is named after one word and the show itself is only called ''Smallville''.
* OpenSecret: While you can debate who and when, in some points before the move to Metropolis Clarks powers are used obviously enough that it seems to be implied that many people (those he saves especially) assume he's just a Meteor Freak who wants to keep his privacy, and so they leave him alone, despite knowing that he has powers. The fact that he's an alien, however, remains a secret.
* OrphanageOfFear: Where Granny Goodness is involved, there's always one involved and St Louise's Orphanage fits the bill.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E14Tomb Tomb]]". A bolt of lightning and a meteor rock bracelet raises one from a dead body that's implied to be ''in the Talon walls since before the series started.''
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Kryptonite + bats + mutated rabies = fanged {{Psycho Lesbian}}s who like blood and [[HellBentForLeather black leather]] and have SuperStrength.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E03Rabid Rabid]]", Type PF.
** Thanks to a serum derived from Clark's blood we get Type A (Adam Knight and potentially several others.)
** (''Smallville'''s [[OurMonstersAreDifferent everything is different]], really).
* OutOfCharacterAlert
** When Clark's on red kryptonite, he always refers to himself as "[[SuperpoweredEvilSide Kal]]". Although his offensive and sexually aggressive attitude should tip you off quick.
--->"[[IronicEcho Clark Kent]] is [[ThatManIsDead dead.]]"
** [[FreakyFridayFlip Lionel in Clark's body]] has cruel comments for both Lana and Chloe, but the most obvious alert comes when he referred to Chloe as "Miss Sullivan".
* ParentsForADay: Clark and Lana in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E20Ageless Ageless]]" with the odd twist that it only lasts a day because the child in question has a kryptonite-induced mutation that causes him to age by several years every few hours.
* PassingTheTorch: A heartwarming meta-example; Clark learns the whole truth about who he is from scientist Dr. Virgil Swann, played by none other than Christopher Reeve.
* PatrickStewartSpeech:
** For a while, ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} masqueraded as Clark's history professor (and another displaced Kryptonian). In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E07Splinter Splinter]]", he goes into a spiel in class about how humans have a long tradition of betraying one another (two examples given were Caesar and Brutus, and Jesus and Judas). Clark delivers a textbook Patrick Stewart Speech to Brainiac at the end of the episode.
--->'''Clark:''' You don't know anything about this race. Yeah, they can be petty and dishonest and betray each other over nothing. But they can also be honest and loyal. And they would give up everything to protect someone they love... even if they were from another planet.\\
'''Professor Fine:''' Kal-El...\\
'''Clark:''' My name is Clark. And I'll always believe in my friends and my family.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E08Solitude Solitude]]", the following episode, Fine betrays him but Chloe comes to his rescue.
--->'''Clark:''' You know, Professor Fine said that human beings were insignificant and couldn't be depended on. He obviously don't know you very well.
** Clark spent a decent amount of time defending [[PlatonicLifePartners Chloe]] from superpowered beings. In "Kara":
--->'''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]]:''' [[PunyEarthlings She is just a human.]] ([[ImStandingRightHere Chloe was standing right there]])\\
'''Clark:''' [[TheSmartGirl A human who is smarter than both of us put together.]]
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E08Blue Blue]]", Kara tries to convince her father Zor-El not to destroy the human race, but he's completely unmoved and just beats her up and continues his rampage, forcing Clark to save the day. She surely learned quickly.
--->'''Kara:''' I might have not been here long but I learned one thing: everything you told me about humans is wrong. They're good people and they're worth defending.
* PedestrianCrushesCar: A recurring bit when young Clark Kent saves a pedestrian from being hit by a car or bus, which crumples around Clark.
* PersonalityPowers: Most of the Meteor Freaks get these.
%%* PhantomZone
%%* PhantomZonePicture
* PhlebotinumBattery: Clark is fighting against his Bizarro clone, who has all of his powers inverted. Kryptonite strengthens him and the sunlight weakens him; this is when Clark learns that the yellow sun fuels his powers. In an earlier episode, solar flares/sun spots cause his powers to go [[PowerIncontinence haywire]] and he doesn't have the same precision control.
* PlanetaryCoreManipulation: Krypton's core is unstable, and General Zod takes advantage of this by using Brainiac to ignite it. This in turn causes the planet's destruction.
* PlotParallel: Often between Clark and Lex, but sometimes played with. "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E11Delete Delete]]" does this with the introduction of Adam, who basically ''guilts'' Lana into backing off about his past, while at the same time Chloe and Clark come to a mutual agreement about ''his'' secrets.
* PoliceAreUseless: PlayedWith in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E16Turbulence Turbulence]]" when Jimmy caught Davis killing someone in the hospital all of the lights are off, and people sleep through everything. It's quite literally impossible to get caught doing anything, and there are no security people anywhere. Yet later, Jimmy is getting ticked at Chloe for not believing in him or whatever shippy crap it was intimated to be, and he slightly raises his voice in anger, and some security guard comes up and says, "Sir, you're going to have to leave!"
* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: The "Comicbook/{{Aquaman}}" episode, although apparently not originally intended as such since it was going to be in a different continuity from the show.
* PowerCreepPowerSeep: Clark is suddenly powerful enough to shove a planet back into space in the finale, this was a planet capable of traveling under its own power too. This is more than a little out of synch with the power level he's shown to have during the rest of the series.
* PowerLossMakesYouStrong: As often as Clark loses his powers, this happens quite a bit, most notable being taking a bullet for Lois while weakened by kryptonite.
* PragmaticAdaptation: It takes elements from all versions of Superman from the Silver Age to Post-Crisis to The Superman Films and kind of puts it together while adapting it for a modern-day audience.
* ProductPlacement:
** Pete was infamously [[FanNickname nicknamed by fans]] as "Product Placement Pete" for how often his character was used for advertising, mentioning everything from Lemon Pledge to a shameless push of the ''Smallville'' soundtrack, in character, to boot! In one particular episode, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E13Hero Hero]]". Pete [[TheBusCameBack returns to the show in full force after a three-year absence]], in an episode which is pretty much a drawn-out Product Placement scheme for Stride Gum. The gum actually has a point in the episode -- it gets contaminated with [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] and gives Pete [[RubberMan stretching powers]] -- so it's shown much more often than the average Product Placement item. Also, Stride gum is mentioned by name over and over, never "gum" but always "Stride," and even one mention of how long the flavor supposedly lasts. At the end, a cured Pete offers Chloe some, holding it up to show the logo ''exactly'' as a person in a commercial would, and says "It's Kryptonite-free" as if that was its slogan.
** The show has a ton of car product placement.
*** Clark, whose [[InformedPoverty family struggles with paying the bills are frequent plot points]], has been shown driving several brand-spanking-new trucks [[ImprobablyCoolCar well beyond his means]], to include a shiny red Toyota Tundra in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E18Progeny Progeny]]" and a shiny blue Toyota Tundra in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E13Hero Hero]]".
*** Chloe would often mention her car in dialogue, always specifying it a Yaris, saying things like "We'll take my Yaris." rather than "Let's use my car." and the
*** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E08Solitude Solitude]]", Lois Lane uses her brand new Ford Fusion to distract a guard by [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy showing off its amazing features]].
** The camera goes out of its way to show unnecessary close-ups of the characters' cell phones as they dial, to show off the nifty Verizon logos.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E07Jinx Jinx]]" has a melodramatic locker room scene before the BigGame where the camera lingers on Clark's Old Spice Red Zone deodorant.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E13Vengeance Vengeance]]": Andrea Rojas uses glasses, but while in her Angel of Vengeance suit she makes use of Acuvue contact lenses. When Chloe learns this, she painfully states "Acuvue to the rescue!"
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E20Noir Noir]]" has a ProductPromotionParade where Jimmy Olsen plays Chloe a goodbye playlist by hooking up his Apple iPod to her Toyota Yaris before snapping a farewell photo of them using his Nikon Coolpix camera.
* PromWrecker: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E18Spirit Spirit]]", [[VillainOfTheWeek the freak of the week]] [[AlphaBitch Dawn Stiles]], is obsessed with becoming Prom Queen. She's put in a coma after a car accident, but she gains the power to possess other people. She uses this power to try to live out her prom fantasy, eventually possessing the prom queen. However, she realizes that the student body hates her and decides to [[KillItWithFire burn down the school]] [[DisproportionateRetribution while the prom is still going on]] for revenge. She possesses Clark when he tries to stop her but Jonathan forces her spirit to leave by exposing Clark to kryptonite.
* ProphecyPileup: Involving Clark, the Traveller, Naman, the destruction of Krypton...
* ProphetEyes: Both Lana and Chloe get it when they are put into painful comas by Brainiac.
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality:
** The heroes have balked at villains spying more than once (even legitimate government operations) and promptly headed back to their own watchtower full of spy equipment.
** Milder example in Season 1 with Clark's telescope. Chloe likes to make fun of him for that.
** When Lana started the Isis Foundation, she began experimenting on meteor freaks in the same way as Lex but while Lex's actions were treated as a MoralEventHorizon since she was searching for a cure, it’s ultimately treated as a good thing. She once found a sick freak instead of calling a doctor or taking him to a hospital she locked him in a room and waited for him to die. This is treated as a noble gesture.
* PsychoExGirlfriend:
** Lex's girlfriend in Season 2 has a psycho ex.
** Alicia to Clark in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E14Obsession Obsession]]".
** Lana to Lex after their messy break up sometime in Season 6.
%%* PsychoLesbian: Tina Greer.
* PubertySuperpower: XRayVision, heat vision and super hearing. His invulnerability and super speed also had notable increases. Most notably, Clark's heat vision starts kicking in as he gets, er, "excited."
* PutOnABus:
** At the end of season 3, Pete Ross by an FBIAgent who suspected ([[SecretKeeper correctly]]) that he knew something about Clark. The event makes him fear for his life, as well as [[KeepingSecretsSucks being frightened that he may accidentally reveal Clark's secret]]. [[TheBusCameBack He returns briefly for a single episode in season 7]].
** Martha Kent moves away from Smallville to Washington, D.C., to take a Senatorial seat at the end of Season 6. She would [[TheBusCameBack come back]] for a few episodes in seasons 9 and 10.
** Kara gets trapped in the Phantom Zone by Brainiac near the end of season 7 and isn't freed until several episodes into Season 8 and is then promptly leaves again, going in search for Krypton's capital city in search of more survivors and [[TheBusCameBack will only come back]] for a few episodes in season 10.
** Lana leaves Smallville and Clark at the end of Season 7. She [[TheBusCameBack returns]] in time for Chloe's wedding in Season 8, briefly rekindles her love affair with Clark, then is forced to absorb Kryptonite by Lex, making her deadly to Clark, leaving for good this time, as they physically cannot remain close.
** PlayedWith in regards to Lex. Creator/MichaelRosenbaum departed at the end of Season 7 but through a mix of StockFootage, audio, and FakeShemp he still made a few appearances right until the end of Season 8. He would then [[TheBusCameBack only come back]] for two episodes in season 10.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Q to R]]
* TheQuarterback: As Clark was the quarterback, the occasional episode has him dealing with the team. He is proficient enough to get a college scholarship offer, as well as translating some of Superman's bravado to leading in high school.
* QuirkyGirlQuirkyTux: Zatanna wears her tuxedo/fishnets combo again when introduced, keeping up her magic comic persona.
* RaceLift: Pete is white in the comics. The Martian Manhunter's "John Jones" identity is African-American on the show, but Caucasian in the comics. In an interview, Creator/PhilMorris (the actor who portrays Martian Manhunter) said that he once asked the producers if it was intentional that J'onn would take on the appearance of a racial minority as a reaction to the sensation of being an outcast since he's the only surviving member of his race. The producer's response was basically "[[AscendedFanon Not originally, but it is now.]]"
* RaiseHimRightThisTime: In season 10, Tess tries to raise a clone of Lex Luthor to be a better man than the original. While it ''almost'' backfires, it's ultimately discovered that he's a combined clone of both Lex and Clark, meaning he's actually the show's version of Connor Kent, the modern Superboy, and Clark's DNA overriding Lex's firmly cements him to the side of good.
* RapidFireTyping: Chloe is quite an efficient hacker, which is demonstrated by her being able to pound her fingers on random keys quickly. At some points, it's blatantly obvious that she's not typing anything meaningful at all.
* RealityEnsues: Done cleverly with a HopeSpot. After finding a photo that showed that Lionel's death was not suicide, Lois and Jimmy are trapped by a shooter under Lex's orders. The shooter shoots Lois in the shoulder after she locked them inside and went to attack.
* ReallyGetsAround: Oliver Queen is portrayed as being quite fond of female company. He has slept with all three of the main female characters as of Season 9. The Luthors are also all over this trope.
* RedemptionInTheRain:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E18Eternal Eternal]]": An unusual version - liquid kryptonite rains on Davis on his request, apparently killing him.
-->'''Davis:''' [[RedemptionEqualsDeath There aren't enough prayers in this world to give me redemption!]]
** Of a kind, in the episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E03Rabid Rabid]]" when the people who have been turned into zombies, Lois included, are cured.
* ReformedButRejected:
** Alicia Baker is rejected by most of the people in Smallville, mostly due to what she'd done to her father and Lana in her first appearance. She's brushed off even after she tries to apologize for her actions. [[spoiler:But post-mortem, at least Chloe, Lois, and Clark's parents showed remorse for her (especially Chloe, for obvious reasons).]]
** Lionel Luthor in seasons 4, 5 and 7. It doesn't help that [[ReformedButNotTamed he still has a manipulative streak]]. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E15Veritas Veritas]]", Lionel insists to Chloe that he's repented of his past sins, but Chloe dismisses his claims and accuses him of taking advantage of Clark's AllLovingHero nature.
-->'''Lionel:''' Miss Sullivan, you must talk to Clark. I need you to talk to Clark.\\
'''Chloe:''' A little late to mend that fence. Amazing how a couple of cold-blooded murders can come between people.\\
'''Lionel:''' [[TheAtoner I have taken moral responsibility for every atrocity I committed in the past.]]\\
'''Chloe:''' "Past?!" Try last week! Maybe even today. Who knows with you?\\
'''Lionel:''' [[NotMeThisTime I did not kill Patricia Swann.]]\\
'''Chloe:''' After you knocked off her father and the rest of [[SecretCircleOfSecrets that Veritas coven]] of yours, I'm supposed to believe you why?\\
'''Lionel:''' Because I was given a gift. I was chosen by Jor-El to serve him, to be [[MouthOfSauron his vessel, his emissary]]. [[HeelFaceTurn And that changed me. That made me a different man.]]\\
'''Chloe:''' We're not stupid. You preyed on Clark's [[AllLovingHero inherent need to find good in all people, and his constant willingness for forgiveness]]. But now you have [[CryingWolf cried wolf]] one too many times.\\
'''Lionel:''' Please. I'm begging you to listen. Clark won't talk to me. He's turned away from Jor-El, and now he is vulnerable. He is in terrible danger.\\
'''Chloe:''' If he's in any danger, it's only from you.\\
'''Lionel:''' ''[[SuddenlyShouting I've repented]]''!\\
'''Chloe:''' That's right; [[SarcasmMode you're an intensely spiritual man]]. You amassed all the power a human could until you found out about Clark. Befriending him is the closest thing you'll ever get to seeing {{God}}.\\
'''Lionel:''' Protecting him is the only way I found to pay for my sins. And isn't that what we all want? To repent, and be forgiven. But none of that matters. Because [[VaguenessIsComing what's coming, is so terrible]].\\
'''Chloe:''' Another false warning. You seriously need to come up with a new line. ''[leaves]''
* RefusalOfTheCall: The entire driving force of ''Smallville'' is Clark's repeated and continuous RefusalOfTheCall, despite repeated reminders that not only does [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive The Call (a.k.a. Jor-El) Know Where He Lives]], it sleeps on his couch, raids his refrigerator, and carpools with him. by seasons 8 and 9 he finally answered, even to the point where he's the one pointing out to the retired members of the Justice Society that they're not returning their calls.
* RemakeCameo
** Creator/ChristopherReeve's appearance as Doctor Virgil Swann was a particularly poignant example of this trope. They tried to have him play Jor-El but [[RealLifeWritesThePlot he died]].
** Creator/AnnetteOToole played ComicBook/LanaLang in ''Film/SupermanIII'' and Martha Kent in ''Smallville''. This casting turned out to be a random fluke. The crew didn't even know at first, being surprised at just how much she knew about the mythology. They were apparently gob-smacked when she told them.
** Creator/TerenceStamp, who played General Zod in ''Film/SupermanII'', was cast as Jor-El and had a [[TheCameo cameo]] as Zod.
** Creator/MargotKidder, who played ComicBook/LoisLane in the films, played Virgil Swann's assistant (and would-be LoveInterest.)
** Creator/DeanCain (''Series/LoisAndClark'''s Clark/Superman) appeared as what may have been the series' version of ComicBook/VandalSavage.
** Creator/HelenSlater (who played [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} the title role]] in ''Film/{{Supergirl}}'') appears as Lara, Clark's biological mother.
** Creator/MarcMcClure, who played Jimmy Olsen in the films, appears as Brainiac's creator Dax-Ur in season 7.
** Creator/TeriHatcher (Lois Lane in ''Series/LoisAndClark'') played Lois' mother Ella Lane in one episode, continuing a tradition of live-action Superman adaptations casting previous Lois actresses to play Lois's mother. Teri Hatcher's appearance is unusual for this trope: when shown, it is on a past recording, as Lois's mother is long dead by this point, and Teri Hatcher appears as she is now, and as the L&C version might appear today.
** Creator/LyndaCarter, best known as TV's ''Series/WonderWoman'' (1975), appears as Moira Sullivan, Chloe's mother, in one episode. A few seasons later, Chloe is mentioned to have met the ''Smallville'' universe's ComicBook/WonderWoman.
* ResetButton: Used multiple times, but referenced by name in Season 8's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E15Infamous Infamous]]".
* ResolvedNoodleIncident: People kept holding an unexplained incident at Club Zero over Lex's head and pointed it as a prime example of [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney his money getting him out of trouble]]. A later episode (appropriately titled "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E14Zero Zero]]") showed a flashback to what happened there, and the VillainOfTheWeek was a relative of someone who died in the incident trying to kill Lex for {{revenge}}.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: A specific variation. When [[EmpathicHealer Chloe]] heals fatal injuries, it kills her, but she could resurrect herself. However, when she saves Lois, she is dead for 3 hours. When she saves Lex, she remains dead for 18 hours. Clark thinks if she tries it again, she might stay dead. Permanently.
* RestrainedRevenge: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E05Action Action]]", after Lionel revealed that he was aware that it was Lana who kidnapped and tortured instead of doing something proportionate or even disproportionate as revenge, he warned her that she was on a slippery slope.
* {{Retcon}}:
** The Veritas icon being retconned onto the Luthor mansion window.
** A very blatant and awkward one at the end of Season 8. This Jimmy Olsen turns out to be the older brother of ''the'' Jimmy Olsen. Named Henry James Olsen, while his younger brother is the James Bartholomew Olsen from the comics. That being said, the showrunners did make it up to Aaron Ashmore by having him return as Jimmy--this time the real one--in the DistantFinale. Although, the writers knew from the start of Jimmy's run that he would not be the real Jimmy Olsen. Although this was more down to ExecutiveMeddling than anything. They decided that either when Smallville ends, or they had "taken Jimmy as far as he could go", they would reveal the truth.
** In Season 10, Tess is revealed as Lionel's illegitimate daughter and Lex's half-sister. This is despite several Season 8 episodes implying that Lex and Tess had a romantic involvement, such as in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E12Bulletproof Bulletproof]]", where she admits to having loved him. However, Tess definitely doesn't know she is his half-sister and no one really knows what is going on in Lex's head.
* {{Retool}}: Alfred Gough and Miles Millar left before Season 8 began, and the last two seasons shifted focus with far greater ties to pre-existing DC characters. Only two original cast members remained (Clark and Chloe), and Oliver was added to the main cast. Chloe (Allison Mack) only came back for a few episodes in Season 10. Lionel Luthor (John Glover) returned for the rest of the series, albeit he is not the "original" Lionel Luthor but from a parallel universe.
* ReusableLighterToss:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E04Slumber Slumber]]", the bad guy of the week tries to toss a reusable lighter to light a fire that would lead to a big explosion. But it's {{Averted|Trope}} as Clark catches the lighter before it can light anything up.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E12Hereafter Hereafter]]", the MonsterOfTheWeek tosses a Zippo to light up a big fire to burn himself as well as Lana and another girl from the school.
* TheRevealPromptsRomance: Lois was already attracted to Clark (and also [[SecretSecretKeeper already knew]] of his SecretIdentity), but when he finally tells her he's the Blur she runs up to him and lays a big slobbering kiss on him.
* RevivalLoophole: Tess is being pursued by Checkmate, who implanted her with a tracking device powered by her body. Chloe stops her heart with a defibrillator to deactivate the device and (eventually) injects her with something to start it again.
* RewatchBonus: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E07Splinter Splinter]]" when Clark starts driving home, his seatbelt suddenly disappears.
* RippleEffectProofMemory: Clark travels backwards in time at least three times (once with a [[MagicFromTechnology Kryptonian Crystal]] to save Lana's life, once with the future Legion of Superheroes' ring to [[ResetButton undo]] his revealing to the world, and once to save himself as a baby in Krypton), and always remembers the timelines that no longer exist. None is longer than a day or two, so it's not a big deal. Also, this is Franchise/{{Superman}}, so he's ''Everything''-proof. In the lead up to the third example, Kara sent a message from past Krypton, which Dr. Swan received in 1989 and recorded in his journal. Clark, reading the journal in 2007, notices the page is "new".
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: Deathstroke showed up as a recurring foe despite having little if any connection to the Franchise/{{Superman}} mythos. Similarly, Deadshot appeared as part of the Suicide Squad in the last season of the show.
* RomanticFalseLead:
** Whitney Fordman, Lana's boyfriend in season 1, fits the false lead to a tee, and was both sent away and killed off.
** Adam Knight in season 3 and Jason Teague in season 4 are perfectly charming love interests right up until they conveniently (for Clark) [[WasItAllALie turn out to be baddies]]. Chloe and Clark had a brief relationship near the end of season one before she inexplicably broke up with him.
* RousseauWasRight: Both Martha Kent and Lex Luthor's clone espouse the idea that people are taught to hate and that Clark is so noble because nobody ever taught him that.
* RunningGag:
** The number of times that someone has been speaking to Clark and then turned around to [[StealthHiBye find him gone]] would make a good drinking game.
** Lois' very [[TheEighties Eighties]]-Hair-Band taste in music.
** Lois's poor spelling, which started way back in the ''movie'' (admittedly, it was incorporated as canon in the comic, even before the series started).
** Whitney's inability to drive a truck without totaling it.
** Clark and Chloe's ship-tease moments.
** People inadvertently exposing Clark to kryptonite (Andrea's locket, Lex, Bart and Chloe have all opened the lead box with the meteor rock in it, Lana's necklace, etc.)
** Lex gets pistol-whipped a surprising amount.
** Within the first few panels of certain Season 11 comics, there is always one character who yells out "SOMEBODY SAVE ME!". Presumably, this would be the moment where, had the series continued on television, the intro would be cued.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:S to T]]
* SadisticChoice: Done again and again and again, villains constantly put Clark in a situation where he has to choose what to do or who to save. Clark is prone to TakeAThirdOption.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]", [[TheChessmaster Lex]], who wants to pay back Clark and Lana for his [[EvilCripple condition]] reveals that the suit Lana stole in an earlier episode (which was meant to heal Lex) absorbs Kryptonite radiation. He then offers the sadistic choice- let Lana absorb the fuel in a kryptonite bomb on the top of the ''Daily Planet'' building and never be able to come near Clark again, or walk away and let the bomb go off, taking half of Metropolis with it. Thor former is picked and Lana and Clark become StarCrossedLovers.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E17Checkmate Checkmate]]", Amanda Waller shows Clark a TV screen depicting an agent holding a gun to Chloe's head and demands that he serve Checkmate or watch her die. The gunman makes the fatal mistake of talking, allowing Clark to hear him and figure out his location. Then, he simply speeds over to him and takes him out.
** LX-13 does this in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E01Lazarus Lazarus]]". Tying Lois Lane up in a field, he sets fire to the crops around her; he's already left a bomb in the ''Daily Planet' building. He then confronts Clark, asking him whether he'll let his girlfriend die, or sacrifice thousands of people in the streets of Metropolis. Clark saves them both.
* SamaritanSyndrome:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E02Sneeze Sneeze]]", after Zod and Brainiac wreaked havoc across the globe, Clark ran himself ragged trying to rebuild everything.
** Lampshaded as 'The Blur' became more and more well known, there was a period where citizens were upset that he could not save everyone. Every tragedy started being blamed on 'Where was The Blur?' and 'Who gives The Blur the right to decide who lives and who dies?'.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E20Prophecy Prophecy]]" has Lois gain Clark's powers and become overwhelmed by the cries for help. Part of the significant character growth Clark has done by this point is that he admits he ''can't'' save everyone and while he does feel guilt over this, he must prioritize who is in the most immediate danger before moving on to the next, comparing his role to a Doctor in triage.
* SanitySlippage: As Lex's paranoia, selfishness, and NeverMyFault complex take over his personality, he arguably experiences this.
* SarcasticClapping: Jonathan does this in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E08Jitters Jitters]]" after Clark uses his SuperSpeed to clean up the WildTeenParty, but didn't notice his parents are already back in a HomeEarlySurprise.
* SarcasticConfession: Clark, asked how he knew which cabinet to look in to find a dead body: "Because I can see right through the door, Pete."
* SaveTheVillain:
** The conceit of the show is that Clark Kent unwittingly saves his future ArchEnemy's life when he rescues ComicBook/LexLuthor from drowning. The novelty later wore out as Clark saved Lex about a hundred other times over the course of the show, even after he officially becomes evil.
** He sometimes also tries to save other villains, but convenient KarmicDeath usually is his friend.
** Chloe Sullivan once ''died'' saving Lex (''after'' he went evil). Luckily, she [[ResurrectiveImmortality doesn't stay dead]], although Clark was seriously worried and actually refused to let her do that at first, but [[MoreHeroThanThou Chloe decides to save Lex anyway once Clark is unconscious.]] This is important because this event triggers both his HeelFaceTurn and ProtagonistJourneyToVillain, although his exact alignment and motives are always kept very ambiguous except at the very end.
** Chloe also brought [[WellIntentionedExtremist Tess]] back from the dead after she had to stop her heart to get government agents to stop tracking them. It's notable because Chloe clearly ''considered letting her stay dead'', but her conscience got the best of her. Seeing as how Tess [[HeelFaceTurn would go on to succeed Chloe as the team's]] MissionControl, the choice paid off.
* TheScapegoat: Surprisingly, Lex Luthor becomes this after his FaceHeelTurn due to a combination of TheDreaded and WritersCannotDoMath. For example, the {{retcon}} done in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E13Power Power]]" had Lana instead of leaving Clark of her own free will be kidnapped by Lex. This means that Lex was building the Prometheus suit to fight Clark and save his battered body long before he was even aware of Clark's secret and was wounded in the Fortress.
* SceneryCensor:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E10Shimmer Shimmer]]", after Clark rescues Victoria [[DeadlyBath from nearly being drowned in her bathtub]], his body ending up blocking her nudity as he lifts her unconscious body from the bathtub.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E20Witness Witness]]", Clark is locked into a furnace by the MonsterOfTheWeek. With his NighInvulnerability, he emerges unharmed, but [[ClothingDamage all his clothes got incinarated]] and the flames are used to block the view of his butt and crotch.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E22Covenant Covenant]]", Kara's nudity while walking up the Kent farm is concealed by the fence, which strategically covers her crotch and breasts.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]", a convenient branch conceals Clark's butt when Lois [[NakedFirstImpression finds him naked]].
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E13Power Power]]", Lana is naked for the procedure to don the Prometheus Suit, but the metal restraints are placed over her breasts and crotch to preserve her modesty.
* SchoolIsMurder: So many of Clark's classmates turn into Kryptonite-fueled murderers or murder victims that the students of Smallville High stop mourning the now-routine deaths halfway through the first season. They are a bit startled when their principal is murdered but get over it by the following week. They shrug off the death of the winningest football coach in school history and don't flinch when it turns out the health / sex-ed teacher is a kryptofreak serial killer.
* SchoolNewspaperNewshound: Chloe. In the early seasons, she is seen putting out a new, full edition of the Smallville High Torch ''every week'', which is pretty remarkable for a high school newspaper.
* SealedCastInAMultipack: The HalfArcSeason for Season 6 was assorted Kryptonian baddies being accidentally released from the PhantomZone and Clark having to round them up.
* SealedEvilInACan: In the 5th season, Brainiac's primary goal is to release Zod from the Phantom Zone. He eventually succeeds in the season finale and Zod's first action upon being freed is to [[SealedGoodInACan put Clark Kent into the same can that he just escaped from]]. Clark manages to escape on his own, without help from the outside, and subsequently reimprisons Zod in the Season 6 premiere. He then spends the rest of the season hunting down the other Phantom Zone prisoners who escaped at the same time he did one by one and either killing or preferably reimprisoning them.
* SecondSuperIdentity: Clark Kent/Superman takes on a secondary superhero persona as "The Blur", when Jimmy Olsen captures him on camera as a red-blue blur.
* SecretKeeper: There's no main character on the show who's ''not'' one. Lois was the last one who didn't know Clark's secret (a fact not lost on her in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E01Lazarus Lazarus]]"). It's implied that Sam Lane figured out Clark's secret at the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E07Ambush Ambush]]", which has been suggested in #3 of the ''Smallville Season 11'' comic book.
** Lex's knowledge of the secret and his other memories was removed by a neurotoxin used by Tess in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]".
** Most of the people who have learned Clark's secret are either [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade dead]], had their [[EasyAmnesia memories wiped]], or incommunicado (in the Phantom Zone, inside some super-science device, in a coma etc). Some good "Meteor Freaks" have learned and kept the secret.
** Lex sort of but not quite figured it out early on, but Clark refused to fully entrust him with it. Up until Season 7, he's constantly finding some strong evidence but gets rejected or disproved by either Clark temporarily being BroughtDownToNormal, or as in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E11Justice Justice]]", Lionel covering for him. Every time Lex 'finds out' he'll always state proudly 'I knew you were different, Clark', [[EasyAmnesia only to have his memory of the event removed.]]
** Tess figures it out by reading Lionel's journal, and spends a season not-so-subtly telling Clark she knows and wants him to trust her, but Clark refuses. He finally caves, while confronting her and holding her up by her throat.
* SelfDisposingVillain: Any meteor freak who doesn't somehow lose his/her power will inevitably meet a messy end at their own hands.
* SelfDuplication:
** Brainiac, being as he was a Terminator 2-like living liquid metal produced by a spaceship, could do this [[SuperpowerLottery on top of so many other things.]] Mostly used so he could be in several places at once to throw people off his scent while plotting.
** A season two MonsterOfTheWeek, Ian Randall, was much more limited: one extra person would climb out of his back and he used one to study [[MesACrowd in two places at once so he could achieve the best grades]] since when they recombined, so would their memories.
* SelfImposedExile: Clark put himself into self-imposed exile after feeling responsible for Martha's miscarriage.
* SelfMadeOrphan:
** ComicBook/LexLuthor murders his ArchnemesisDad Lionel as his [[MoralEventHorizon final step]] into true villainy. Lionel himself was revealed to be one of these earlier in series, having had his friend Morgan Edge kill his [[TheAlcoholic Alcoholic]] AbusiveParents in a gas fire. One can only wonder what Lex's children will do, should he have any...
** Technically, Tess kills Lionel as well, though it's his AlternateUniverse counterpart. Regardless, he is still considered her father even by Tess herself, and she kills him [[OffingTheOffspring in self-defense]].
* SeriousBusiness: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E18Drone Drone]]", one of Clark's classmates uses her GreenRocks powers to assassinate her rivals for the post of StudentCouncilPresident, because she's convinced herself that the course of her entire adult life rides on the outcome.
* SexDressed: During the aftermath of a WildTeenParty in Clark's barn, we see a half-dressed girl scurrying out of the hay, followed by a similarly disheveled guy.
%%* SexIsEvil: See "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]".
* SexGod:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]", Desiree's LivingAphrodisiac powers combined with her natural sex appeal makes her a SexGoddess, which is implied to be how she keeps a hold on [[TheCasanova Lex]] for much longer than her usual thralls, which only last a few hours after inhaling her pheromones. A DeletedScene actually confirms it by showing them post-sex, with a visibly exhausted and breathless Lex.
** Both Oliver and Zod are very complimentary of Tess's sexual prowess.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E04Instinct Instinct]]", Maxima arrives on Earth in search of a Kryptonian to be her perfect mate and her dialogue implies she's too much of a SexGoddess for [[SpeedSex anyone to handle her for long]], as mere kisses from her cause normal men to JizzInMyPants. When Clark proves his strength to her, she's thrilled.
-->'''Maxima''': ''Finally''. A man with some fight in him. None of the men on my planet have the stamina to ''keep up''.
* SexyDiscretionShot:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E02Mortal Mortal]]", Clark and Lana make out on the floor before [[FadeToBlack the screen fades]]. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E03Hidden Hidden]]", they wake up in bed together under a ModestyBedsheet.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E17Sleeper Sleeper]]", Chloe and Jimmy goes through another round of SlapSlapKiss, falls onto the bed and out of the screen.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E05Committed Committed]]", after a [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence sexually charged sparring match]], Tess and Oliver start kissing passionately and the camera cuts away from them. The next time we see them, it's already the morning after.
* SexyShirtSwitch: Several girls end up wearing Clark's football jersey.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E04Devoted Devoted]]", Chloe tries to seduce Clark while under the influence of a LovePotion while only wearing his football jersey.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E03Hidden Hidden]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E07Wrath Wrath]]" Lana wears Clark's shirt after they have sex.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E07Rage Rage]]", Lois is shown waking up one morning and wandering around Oliver Queen's penthouse wearing only his shirt.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E07Ambush Ambush]]", Lois is wearing Clark's jersey after TheirFirstTime, when they're [[InterruptedIntimacy interrupted by her father and sister arriving for dinner]].
** Subverted two times: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E02Gone Gone]]", Lois ends up wearing Clark's shirt because it is the only clean one. Martha found them and assumed they did something naughty. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E05Committed Committed]]", Lois wakes up wearing only Clark's jersey and assumes something happened, but Clark tells her she just got drunk and changed on her own.
* SexySilhouette:
** During Lana's ShowerScene in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]", we only see her from the [[ShouldersUpNudity shoulders up]] or via her silhouette behind the curtains.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E12Pariah Pariah]]", Lana is once again seen like this, when the [[ElementalShapeshifting Sand Morphing]] MonsterOfTheWeek tries to [[DeadlyBath kill her while she's showering.]]
** Lois's silhouette is seen while she's changing into a FlagBikini behind a dressing screen while she talks to Chloe when they're going undercover at a gentlemen's club in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E06Exposed Exposed]]".
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E20Fade Fade]]", Lois silhouette is seen [[ShowerScene showering]] behind the curtain in the Talon, when the MonsterOfTheWeek uses his {{Invisibility}} powers to sneak into the bathroom and [[ThePeepingTom peek]] on her.
* SexySurfacingShot:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E15Nicodemus Nicodemus]]", while under the effect of the [[LoveIsInTheAir Nicodemus flower]], Lana tries to seduce Clark by stripping down to her [[LingerieScene underwear]] and diving into the school's pool to lure him into a TwoPersonPoolParty. When he's AboveTheInfluence she seductively climbs out of the pool while still dripping wet in only her underwear.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]", when Jonathan goes to the Luthor Mansion to talk to HotTeacher Desirée, he finds her SkinnyDipping in the pool. [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Uncaring]], she climbs out of the pool topless (The audience only sees her [[ToplessnessFromTheBack bare back]] and [[ShouldersUpNudity bare shoulders]]) to talk to him but he's [[IgnoreTheFanservice immune to her charms]] and just tells her to PleasePutSomeClothesOn.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E04Aqua Aqua]]", Lois comes out of Crater Lake in a bikini in SlowMotion, so the audience can drink in her curves. The shot ended making into the [[TitleSequence opening credits]] to introduce Creator/EricaDurance as ComicBook/LoisLane.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E14Persuasion Persuasion]]", Tess is having a relaxing CandlelitBath when Major Zod [[InterruptedBath invites himself into the bathroom]] to catch her in a moment of weakness. She turns the tables on him by acting unperturbed and [[DefiantStrip nonchalantly climbing out of the bath]] in front of him while they're exchanging veiled threats.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend:
** Although the specific phrase is never used, Clark said something to this effect about Lois all the time from Seasons 4 through 7. However in Season 8, he starts to reevaluate his feelings on that matter...
** Clark and Chloe, every now and then. Davis once mistook her as his fiancée when he sees her engagement ring from Jimmy.
* ShipSinking:
** Lana's storyline during her return in Season 8, though not until her last episode ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]"). Clark can never go near Lana again because the suit that is grafted to her skin is irreversibly contaminated with massive amounts of Kryptonite.
** The writers have gone to great lengths to explain to fans that Clark and Chloe will never be anything more than friends, pointing out that Clark doesn't reciprocate her feelings, and that Chloe herself eventually gets over it.
* ShipperOnDeck:
** Lex for Clark/Lana early in the show. He continually tells Lana that she's with the wrong guy and sets Clark up with her on several occasions. Ironically, Lex would later marry Lana and it would be a large factor in the break up of Lex and Clark's friendship in addition to Lex's evil deeds. In addition, a few years after Lana and Lex divorce, Lex finds a way to prevent Clark and Lana from ever being together again.
** Lois is encouraging towards Chloe's affection towards Clark in the middle seasons.
** In a reversal, after Lois accidentally and unknowingly kisses Clark and says he's a better kisser than her current boyfriend Oliver, the look of utter glee on Chloe's face can't be mistaken as anything but this.
* ShootingSuperman: The most idiotic example of this happening is in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E15Infamous Infamous]]". After being accused of Lex's murder in an alternate timeline where he revealed his powers, a SWAT team attempt to shoot Clark. Despite knowing that he is ''bulletproof''.
* ShopClass: Brainy kid Ian Randall couldn't get anything better than a '''C''' in that class and [[DisproportionateRetribution killed the teacher]] to cover it up.
* ShotToTheHeart: Clark does this to Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E18Truth Truth]]" and Lana in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E05Thirst Thirst]]". Chloe does it to Tess in Season 9.
* ShoutOut:
** Jonathan Kent (played by John Schneider) is heard playing the theme to ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'' in his car. In one episode, Tom Wopat (who played the other Duke cousin) shows up as an old friend of Jonathan. Thanks to a stuck door, Jack (Wopat) has to get in his car (a [[CoolCar Dodge Charger]]!) through the window.
** Chloe and Lois get a few per episode. There is also an occasional shout out to Clark's later career and eventual marriage.
** In Season 3, Clark hopped up on red kryptonite has a FunTShirt that has the symbol of Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero.
** In an episode where Lana joins a sorority of krypto-made vampires, Clark and Professor Fine (Creator/JamesMarsters) have this exchange:
--->'''Clark:''' This is gonna sound crazy, but she was bitten by... a vampire.\\
'''Prof. Fine:''' There's no such thing as vampires.
*** The lead vampire in that episode is a blonde valley-girl named [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy Saunders]], a reference to Buffy Summers.
** Also from the above ep, Milton Fine claims that [=LuthorCorp=] is working on a Project [[{{Film/THX1138}} 1138]].
** The constant usage of PersonAsVerb, usually from Chloe.
** The origin of Greg Arkin is an intentional dark echo of Franchise/SpiderMan.
** Lex says that the process to turn Victor Stone into Cyborg cost "[[Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan a lot steeper than six million dollars".]]
** Season 5 has a VillainOfTheWeek PlayingWithSyringes [[Film/ReAnimator and a glowing serum that brings people back from the dead.]]
** All of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E19Mercy Mercy]]" to ''{{Franchise/Saw}}''.
** Crossing over with ActorAllusion, Creator/MichaelShanks' Hawkman wryly remarks that he's 'an expert at dying'. Shanks' previous (and most famous) role was as Doctor Daniel Jackson in the ''Franchise/StargateVerse'', put ComicBook/JeanGrey to shame, dying a grand total of ''12'' times in 10 seasons, not counting the four times he was mistaken for dead and various robots and virtual reality counterparts.
** In the Season 10 episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E06Harvest Harvest]]", when Clark rescues Lois from being sacrificed by a village of religious zealots, Lois tells the village that Clark was sent by God to punish them, [[Film/PulpFiction "with great vengeance and furious anger"]]
** Cross DC/Marvel examples include:
*** Season 5 has a hitman called [[Franchise/SpiderMan The Chameleon]], but with invisibility instead of disguises. Worth noting is that he's able to carry on committing evil after Clark saves him from a car crash, which sounds like a rip on the traditional Spider-Man origin story.
*** In a Season 9 episode, when Chloe and Clark are searching for Ollie after he'd been kidnapped, they use a computer-generated map of the world that shows where all the Kandorians are and in the process, ending up looking like a suspiciously similar version of [[ComicBook/XMen Cerebro.]]
*** In Season 10, to calm people's mistrust of superheroes, Oliver unmasks himself, [[Film/IronMan by calling a press conference, announcing that 'I am [hero identity], as an ex-girlfriend who's a reporter watches on, resulting in the crowd of reporters suddenly getting louder and ask a ton of questions]].
* ShowDontTell: A lot of {{Informed Attribute}}s and CharacterShilling for Lana.
* ShowerScene: The show has a fair amount of shower scenes, usually played for {{fanservice}} with plenty of {{Sexy Silhouette}}s and using ShouldersUpNudity or ToplessnessFromTheBack to conceal any nudity.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E02Metamorphosis Metamorphosis]]": [[MonsterOfTheWeek Freak of the week]] Greg has one where we see skin molting while he's showering.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E05Cool Cool]]": [[MonsterOfTheWeek Sean's]] girlfriend Jenna is taking one when he enters her bathroom hungry for heat. [[ShowerofLove She invites him to join her]] but he ends up attacking her, draining her all of her heat and freezing her to death.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]": Lana is showering in her room and once she steps out of the shower both the audience and her see her bare back on the mirror, which reveals she now has the Mark of Transference tattooed on her lower back.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E02Gone Gone]]":
*** Clark takes a shower at the start of the episode which quickly turns into a ShowerOfAwkward when Lois barges into the bathroom because he's taking too long. He [[NakedFreakOut freaks out]], grabs a ModestyTowel and leaves... only to find his mother [[OpenTheDoorAndSeeAllThePeople standing outside the door]] and immediately jumps to conclusions [[NotWhatItLooksLike when she finds the two in the bathroom together]].
*** Lionel is showering in prison when an inmate [[DeadlyBath stabs him in the liver]] and leaves him on the floor. He survives.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E03Facade Facade]]": Abigail [[ShowerOfLove has a makeout session with her former bully in the gym showers]]. Amusingly, the shower part is accidental when she backs into the control valve as their kissing, but neither seems to mind. During it she finds out the side-effects of her mother's "beauty treatment" when green veiny strands form on his mouth. She is unnerved and leaves abruptly, [[HandOrObjectUnderwear using her hands to cover herself]].
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E12Pariah Pariah]]": Lana is taking a shower at the Talon when Tim uses his [[DishingOutDirt sand powers]] to slide through the keyhole of her door and [[DeadlyBath tries to suffocate her with the shower curtain]]. Jason hears the commotion and breaks into the bathroom {{just in time}} to save her.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E14Tomb Tomb]]": The episode opens with Chloe is taking a shower at Lois' Talon apartment. The power suddenly goes out while a StringyHairedGhostGirl is seen peering through the shower curtain. She gets out and in the dark, she sees the ghost girl in the mirror and screams. Lois rushes into the bathroom and finds Chloe crouched in a corner, her wrists cut, asking for help.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E20Fade Fade]]": Lois takes a shower at the Talon in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E20Fade Fade]]" before her date with Graham, who unknown to her is the MonsterOfTheWeek who uses his {{Invisibility}} powers to [[PowerPerversionPotential invade her bathroom]] and [[ThePeepingTom spy on her showering]]. But she hears him and he escapes, and she grabs a steel shower brush and [[FullFrontalAssault leaves the shower to investigate her apartment in the buff]]. Only to find [[OpenTheDoorAndSeeAllThePeople a flabbergasted Clark right as she opens the door]]. Cue NakedFreakOut as she withdraws back to the bathroom. When she comes back in a ModestyTowel he explains he came to warn him about Graham but she brushes him off.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E06Prey Prey]]": Davis Bloome has a ShowerOfAngst, to wash off all the blood from his last kill.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E16Escape Escape]]": Clark is showering in the Cabin, [[SingingInTheShower singing about Lois]] when 'Chloe' ([[DemonicPossession possessed by the Silver Banshee]]) enters the bathroom wrapped only in a ModestyTowel and attempts to seduce him by [[DressHitsFloor shedding the towel]] and [[ShowerOfLove trying to join him in the shower]]. Clark is AboveTheInfluence and [[PleasePutSomeClothesOn quickly covers her]], thinking that she is drunk. Naturally, Lois enters the room at that time and is [[NotWhatItLooksLike shocked and angered by what she finds]]. Clark [[ICanExplain tries to explain]], but Lois furiously gives the soap to 'Chloe', inadvertently transferring Silver Banshee's spirit from Chloe's to her body, and 'Lois' leaves. Chloe momentarily faints into Clark's arms, and is mortified when she notices their state of undress.
* ShowingOffTheNewBody
** A rare male version happens in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E06Transference Transference]]", when Lionel Luthor [[FreakyFridayFlip switches bodies]] with Clark, Lionel!Clark poses in front of a mirror [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]] while flexing his muscles.
** A more traditional example occurs in [[Recap/SmallvilleS04E08Spell Spell]] when a gang of ancient evil witches [[DemonicPossession possess]] Lana, Lois and Chloe. The witch who gets Lois is ''very'' happy about [[BoobsOfSteel Lois's endowments]].
--> '''Lois!Brianna:''' I'm ''[[DistractedByMyOwnSexy gorgeous]]'', look at [[BuxomIsBetter these!]]\\
''[Lois!Brianna fondles her own breasts]''
* SigilSpam: By season 9, Clark takes to burning his family crest on the scene of every save he performs, as both a CallingCard and to inspire the disenfranchised population of Metropolis that they ''do'' have someone protecting them.
* SingleEpisodeHandicap:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E10Whisper Whisper]]", Clark was temporarily blinded by some sort of laser, causing him to develop SuperHearing. The episode was [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} not at all derivative]].
** Likewise, when [[SickEpisode he caught a cold]] in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E02Sneeze Sneeze]]", it caused him to develop SuperBreath, which in this version of the character doesn't actually mean freezing breath like in some of the comics but simply lets him generate massive gusts of compressed air.
* SignificantWardrobeShift: Clark Kent initially had no costume at all as a high-school student in Smallville. Later after he becomes "the Blur" in Metropolis, he adopts a black BadassLongcoat with the House of El insignia in white on a black T-shirt. Early in season 10, he shifts to a red and blue jacket and trousers as the Blur gradually morphs into Superman, and he finally receives the classic Superman outfit in the GrandFinale.
* SignOfTheApocalypse: When Lois sees Clark on {{Karaoke|Box}} night, she quips, "Clark Kent and Karaoke — isn't that a sign of the Apocalypse?".
* SinisterSuffocation: Linda Lake is introduced as a snobbish, self-centered and overall thoroughly unpleasant gossip columnist. However, when she demonstrates her [[MakingASplash hydrokinetic abilities]] by luring her target to a fountain and holding him underwater until he dies, the audience grows aware that she is a [[TheSociopath manipulative and remorseless killer]].
* SkewedPriorities: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]", instead of trying to find the bomb, Clark decided it was more important to find Lex. Even Chloe called him out on this.
* SkinnyDipping
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]", Jonathan Kent goes to the Luthor's mansion to confront [[EvilTeacher Desiree]] and finds her swimming naked in the pool. She [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl doesn't mind]] and he tells her to PleasePutSomeClothesOn. The audience only sees her [[ToplessnessFromTheBack bare back]] or [[ShouldersUpNudity bare shoulders]].
** In the teaser for "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E04Slumber Slumber]]", Clark and Lana go skinny dipping together at Crater Lake. They both turn around as they undress before getting it, but later Lana teases she got a [[EatingTheEyeCandy good view]] of him [[SexySurfacingShot getting out of the water]]. Later this sequence is revealed to be AllJustADream.
* SkywardScream:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E03Hothead Hothead]]" ends with Clark and Lana screaming up at the sky to vent their frustrations.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E06Hourglass Hourglass]]", Clark lets one out during a vision of seeing all his loved ones dead.
** Lex does one at the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E10Persona Persona]]" after his hired assassin informs him of successfully murdering Grant Gabriel, a clone that he created of his dead younger brother Julian, who turned his back on him for Lionel. This normally would have counted as his MoralEventHorizon, but because of the grief and regret that he showed by doing this, he was still considered at least a little sympathetic among most fans.
* SlapSlapKiss:
** Jimmy and Chloe indulge in this from time to time. Often due to TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife on Chloe's part. Or mutual flirting between [[Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] and Jimmy. Or Jimmy having an inferiority complex towards Clark, who Chloe is fiercely loyal to. They really do have quite a few issues.
** A more violent version in season nine, shown in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E16Escape Escape]]". Tess and Zod had a passionate kiss after Tess shoots at Zod, who returns a NeckLift only to be subdued with Kryptonite.
** In the Season 8 episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E05Committed Committed]]", when Oliver and Tess are fighting with sticks before their date, they wind up kissing each other.
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Lex has this happen to him over the course of this show, going from a close friend of Clark's and genuinely good guy to evil villain over the course of the series. Lampshaded when he tells Ryan that 'Evil is a journey, not a light switch'.
* SmallUniverseAfterAll: Aliens tend to talk about the 28 known galaxies as a reference to ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The earliest version of the Justice League includes [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark]], ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}[=/=]Author, Cyborg/Victor, [[Franchise/TheFlash Impulse]]/Bart, ComicBook/GreenArrow[=/=]Oliver, and Chloe. This defies some common expectations however, as she is {{The Smart G|uy}}irl and is, at that time, romantically involved with someone outside the group.
* SomethingElseAlsoRises:
** Kryptonians [[EyeBeams heat vision]] flares up when they're sexually aroused, and is something of a RunningGag.
*** It happens to Clark in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E02Heat Heat]]" when he's [[EatingTheEyeCandy checking out]] the new HotTeacher and in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E19Blank Blank]]" when he gets aroused by Lana.
*** Happens to Lionel when [[FreakyFridayFlip he and Clark swap bodies]] in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E06Transference Transference]]". When Lionel!Clark hugs Martha and [[PervertedSniffing sniffs her hair]], his heat vision flares up and he ends up setting the tractor on fire.
*** It happens to Kara in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E03Fierce Fierce]]" when she's [[EatingTheEyeCandy checking out]] Jimmy
*** It happens with Connor in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E16Scion Scion]]" when he sees [[HeadTurningBeauty Lois]] for the first time.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E19Crush Crush]]", when Chloe makes out with a telekinetic, all of the small, heft-able objects in the room float up into the air.
* SoulJar: The original Jor-El's [[BrainUploading recorded his mind]] into the Fortress computer.
%%** The Phantoms.
* SpandexLatexOrLeather: ''Smallville'' does not have one set answer. Clark Kent wore [[NotWearingTights wear red and blue street clothes]] for most of the show, before settling on CivvieSpandex (usually a red leather jacket with an S logo or a BadassLongcoat worn over a black T-shirt with the S logo) in the final few seasons. Leather seemed to be the superhero outfit of choice, from the ComicBook/GreenArrow, to ComicBook/DoctorFate, to ComicBook/BoosterGold. Stargirl was the only hero seen in full spandex (save for her mask), though her mentor the Star-Spangled Kid was wearing his spandex top as part of a Civvie Spandex ensemble while on the run from Checkmate.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', due to the fact that both combine teen drama with the superhero genre; as mentioned above, it was perhaps no coincidence that ''Smallville'' premiered after ''Buffy'' left for Creator/{{UPN}}. Both series have similar CharacterDevelopment and even episodes. In turn, ''Smallville'' was succeeded by ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', another reimagining of the DC mythos.
* SpotTheImpostor:
** Happens several times; Clark and [[ShapeShifting Tina posing as Clark]], Clark and Bizzaro, for example.
** An averted example appears in the episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]"; Lex has inadvertently (and at first unknowingly) created an evil clone of himself (Black Kryptonite separated the Good and Evil personas of him). In order to be sure he's talking to the real Lex, Clark asks about the Lex he's talking to (the evil one) about an encounter he knows he had with the real Lex. Little does Clark know however, the evil version was listening in on the conversation, and manages to fool Clark at first.
* StalkerWithACrush: Too many to count.
** Including, going by the Season 1 DVD commentary, the show's creators. It's kind of creepy the way they ''gush'' over then-teenage Kristin, calling her "[[CreatorsPet the true magic of the show]]."
** Lana isn't the only one who gets them. Clark had Alicia stalking him, and Maxima even traveled to Earth from Almerac just to hunt him down to be her mate.
* StarterMarriage: Jimmy and Chloe. They were very sweet together at first, but gets increasingly rocky due to the involvement of first Clark, then Davis. Ends sadly when Jimmy [[BreakTheCutie shouts at Chloe and declares marrying her is the biggest mistake of his life]].
* StartMyOwn: Lex's response to Lionel hindering his progress at [=LuthorCorp=] was starting Lexcorp.
* StartOfDarkness: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E22Commencement Commencement]]" (for Lex), "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E09Lexmas Lexmas]]" (for Lex, again), "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E07Kandor Kandor]]" (for Zod).
* StealthHiBye:
** Clark's favorite way to enter or exit any scene. Usually the special effects crew are kind enough to at least give us his distinctive superspeed whoosh sound, but occasionally not, such as in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E07Splinter Splinter]]" where Clark has been infected with silver kryptonite (which gives him paranoia and hallucinations) and breaks into Lex's castle. Lex walks down a darkened hallway, looking everywhere for Clark, and when he turns around, Clark is standing where he'd just looked with no apparent way of entering the room.
** [[Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] picked up the family business and arguably did a better job (read:more off-screen Stealth Byes due to budget cuts).
** Blink and you'll miss it, but in an episode where Clark is depowered (actually inside a virtual world), he leaves the room without Lois or anyone else present noticing his disappearance for a few minutes, showing that he can actually do this without using super speed.
* StockEpisodeTitles: Lots. From least to most common on the list: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E01Vortex Vortex]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E04Red Red]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E22Salvation Salvation]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E01Odyssey Odyssey]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E14Zero Zero]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E18Apocalypse Apocalypse]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E22Phantom Phantom]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E08Blue Blue]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E18Truth Truth]]" ("The Truth" on the list) "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E21Forever Forever]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E17Sleeper Sleeper]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E06Prey Prey]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E11Lockdown Lockdown]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E10Whisper Whisper]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E16Descent Descent]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E08Abandoned Abandoned]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E22Doomsday Doomsday]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E08Shattered Shattered]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E19Quest Quest]]" ("The Quest" on the list), "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E06Crossfire Crossfire]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E09Asylum Asylum]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E13Suspect Suspect]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E02Metamorphosis Metamorphosis]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E23Exodus Exodus]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E15Prodigal Prodigal]]" ("Prodigal Son"/"Prodigy" on the list; the episode ''is'' about a wayward son), "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E15Conspiracy Conspiracy]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E19Nemesis Nemesis]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E16Fever Fever]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E04Cure Cure]]" ("The Cure" on the list) "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E13Power Power]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E08Bloodline Bloodline]]" ("Bloodlines" in the list), "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E02Phoenix Phoenix]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E11Justice Justice]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E06Fallout Fallout]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E13Vengeance Vengeance]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E14Requiem Requiem]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E20Sacrifice Sacrifice]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E17Checkmate Checkmate]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E14Obsession Obsession]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E15Resurrection Resurrection]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E19Crush Crush]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E14Masquerade Masquerade]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E01Arrival Arrival]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E16Escape Escape]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E13Hero Hero]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E20Witness Witness]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E17Legacy Legacy]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E04Homecoming Homecoming]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E05Reunion Reunion]]" and the obligatory "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]", many of which are rather... literal. With over 50 such episodes, there are over 1 in 5 episodes which have stock names. There are also "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E07Identity Identity]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E16Crisis Crisis]]" which makes up "Identity Crisis" from the list.
%%* StoryArc
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Both Lex and Lana tried to get Clark to reveal his secrets when he lost his memory in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E19Blank Blank]]". While Lex succeeded, Clark regained his memory before Lana could.
* StrappedToAnOperatingTable
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E03Facade Facade]]", Lois finds herself strapped to a surgery table after being gassed by Dr. Fine. Clark arrives and rescues her before anything happens.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E15Conspiracy Conspiracy]]", Vala and the other Kandorians are strapped to operating tables and experimented upon after they're kidnapped by Dr. Chisholm. Only Vala manages to survive the experience thanks to Zod, Lois and Clark.
* StrawCharacter: Cat Grant, a major departure from the freewheeling comic book version. When Lois is performing rituals under the possession of Isis, Cat actually says "I will never understand liberals." Gordon Godfrey is a caricature of conservative talk show hosts, though that at least is true to his comic book roots. Although in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E11Icarus Icarus]]", Cat [[CharacterDevelopment agreed to at least be more objective when it comes to superheroes]].
* StrawFan: Ben Meyers in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E05Action Action]]" is essentially a proxy of overzealous fanboys who threaten actors and crew members when movies or TV shows make changes to the source material.
* StuffBlowingUp: The show probably has the most serious usage of StuffBlowingUp then anything. Sometimes it is difficult to find an episode ''without'' an epic explosion. Just in season one, we have a classroom combustion ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E03Hothead Hothead]]"), greenhouse explosion ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E07Craving Craving]]"), car explosion ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E02Metamorphosis Metamorphosis]]"), bus near-explosion ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E09Rogue Rogue]]"), gas canister explosion ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E18Drone Drone]]") and a gas-line explosion ("[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E20Obscura Obscura]]").
* StupidGood: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E13Hero Hero]]", Chloe threatened Lex the owner of the Daily Planet with an expose in the Daily Planet. This seems to be a regular occurrence; the heroes regularly use InsaneTrollLogic to accuse the villain of something and are only justified because the villain later uses it for evil ends.
* StupidEvil: Red kryptonite turns Clark into this.
* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: Kryptonian [[PowerCrystal crystalline]] technology borders on the magical.
* SupernaturalSoapOpera: The series mixes the everyday drama of a young Superman in the WeirdnessMagnet small rural town of Smallville.
* SupernormalBindings: Handcuffs with kryptonite in them which are used to restrain Kara.
* SuperpowersForADay
** Pete Ross got [[RubberMan elastic]] superpowers thanks to a chewing gum. Those powers only lasted for one episode.
** Chloe Sullivan got the power to make everyone tell her the truth. That superpower was killing her. It was removed by the end of the episode. She then got EmpathicHealing for a couple of episodes before trading out for SuperIntelligence, then going back to normal.
** Lana was clairvoyant. In a later episode, Lana temporarily copied Clark's powers. Clark actually had to remove them because Lana was determined to use her powers to get vengeance on Luthor.
** Clark briefly had "[[Literature/TheDeadZone Dead Zone]]" Vision
** Lex, Lana and Jonathan were all briefly [[strike:Flying]] [[FlyingBrick Speeding Bricks]]. It cost Jonathan his health and eventually his life.
* SuperSenses: Kryptonians have enhanced senses as part of their power-set.
* SuperWeight:
** Type 0: Lois, Chloe, The Kents, Lex, Lionel, Tess, Lana before she gains Lex's super suit]]
** Type 1: Green Arrow, Rick Flag, Deadshot, Slade Wilson, or is he?
** Type 2: Most meteor freaks/metahumans, Impulse, Aquaman, Cyborg, ComicBook/BlackCanary, Hawkman, ComicBook/{{Stargirl|DC Comics}}
** Type 3: Most aliens, Kryptonians under the yellow sun, Clark, Kara, ComicBook/MartianManhunter, ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}, Lana after gaining Lex's super suit]], Zod, ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, Doomsday, ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}
** Type 4: ComicBook/DoctorFate
* TakeThat:
** The episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E17Hex Hex]]" in Season 8 was meant as a spoof of the infamous Chlois Theory. For those unfamiliar with it, the Chlois Theory was basically an idea created by some Chloe/Clark shippers and hardcore Chloe fans who wanted Chloe Sullivan to "become" Lois Lane, stating that at some point, she would assume this identity. Oddly enough, the theory didn't die when the actual Lois Lane was ''brought into the show in Season 4''. Many Chlois theorists were rather aggressive in their hatred for the Lois Lane character when she was introduced, and there were massive {{Flame War}}s between fans of Creator/EricaDurance's Lois and the Chlois theorists who still clung to the idea that Chloe would one day "replace" Erica Durance's character as the one true "iconic Lois Lane" (a phrase thrown around a lot during these debates). This occurred ''despite'' the fact that the show's creators, producers, and actors all repeatedly stated that the Chlois theory would ''not'' come true. One can only imagine that the showrunners finally got fed up and decided to write this episode to spoof it. To make the point more obvious, after spending a day as a duplicate of Lois Lane, Chloe (after being restored to her usual self) says aloud that she will never be Lois Lane, and finally chooses a new career path: working for the Justice League full-time, declaring "Watchtower (her codename) is officially online."
** The [[SuperRegistrationAct Vigilante Registration Act]], headed by one General Slade Wilson, is a subtle one aimed at Marvel's ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' and ''Comicbook/DarkReign'' storylines. The VRA is less of a take that and more of a Homage.
* SwissCheeseSecurity: Lex Luthor used to be the {{Trope Namer|s}}. Virtually any character on the show is prone to showing up at Luthor's mansion unannounced to have a chat with Lex in his office, steal something, beat him up, etc. The ''Smallville'' wiki actually [[http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Luthor_Mansion_security_breaches had a page on it]]. Not that any other supposedly secure location is any better. If a secret government base or [=LuthorCorp=] installation is mentioned, it's practically guaranteed that someone is going to break in, super-powered or not. Lex himself once mentioned that he really needs to improve his security. One of Tess' minions also lampshades how cheap the security is.
* TakingTheBullet
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E16Crisis Crisis]]", Clark saves Lana by speeding in front of the bullet fired by Adam and taking it. [[NighInvulnerability Naturally]], he's unharmed by it.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E11Unsafe Unsafe]]": Alicia (who is not bulletproof) takes a (normal) bullet for Clark because she promised to always keep his secret, which would have been revealed if he had been shot.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E15Freak Freak]]", Clark saves Lana from an electromagnetic burst fired by Dr. Bethany.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E19Stiletto Stiletto]]", Clark takes the bullet for Lois. This is an especially heroic move since he's surrounded by kryptonite and so the bullet actually hurts and wounds him.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E06Harvest Harvest]]", Clark shields Lois from a blast of Blue Kryptonite fire, receiving a dire burn on his back.
* TapOnTheHead: Clark has been known to employ this rather literally, on occasion. The first such example is in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E15Nicodemus Nicodemus]]" when he lightly tapped Pete on the forehead and knocks him cold. Other characters also sometimes employ this trope in the traditional manner of smashing objects over someone's head. Note that since Clark has [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou caught people and objects without any damage to the person or obstacle even if they were moving/falling at a very high velocity]], it makes "sense" that his taps on the head would not have the same damage that smashing an object over someone's head would.
* TattooedCrook:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E13Kinetic Kinetic]]" has a gang of burglars terrorizing the town thanks to their {{Power Tattoo}}s, which are made with ink mixed with GreenRocks and allow them to [[IntangibleMan pass through walls]].
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E01Arrival Arrival]]", Phantom Zone prisoner Aethyr has the House of Zod crest tattooed on her lower back.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E13Vengeance Vengeance]]", the gangster Snake has a tattoo of a snake on part of his face and neck.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E17Combat Combat]]" features Phantom Zone prisoner Titan who is covered with Kryptonian tattoos.
* {{Technobabble}}: Any effort (particularly by Chloe) to give a scientific explanation for how a superpower works.
* TeensAreMonsters: Though not all, a lot of the [[MonsterOfTheWeek meteor freaks of the week]], people who usually go crazy and start killing people on ''Smallville'', are teenagers. Part of that is likely due to the high school/college setting of the first five seasons, but it holds true in later seasons as well. Initially an EnfantTerrible, Lx-15/Alexander Luthor plunges headlong into this trope after he ages to the point where he's in his mid-teens. He attempts to assassinate Martha Kent, Clark, and Earth-2 Lionel, burns down Luthor Mansion and attacks his ParentalSubstitute Tess. Thank god that memory loss, and a HeelFaceTurn set in.
* {{Telepathy}}: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E16Stray Stray]]", "Ryan"; Season 9's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E04Echo Echo]]" centers around Clark gaining this as a temporary ability courtesy of Jor-El.
* TellMeAboutMyFather: Clark asks The Fortress AI (a recording of Dear Old Dad), Comicbook/{{Brainiac}}, Raya, and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} about his parents, but mainly Jor-El. He also gets to interact with a simulation of his mom Lara (played by Helen Slater, who played Supergirl in the 1984 film ''Film/{{Supergirl}}'').
* TemporaryLoveInterest: Clark had a few
** 1: Kyla Willowbrook, a Native American who [[{{Animorphism}} could shapeshift into a wolf]]. When she found out the truth of his nature, her attraction to him peaked and they began an instant romantic relationship with their FirstKiss; died in one episode.
** 2: Alicia Baker, a superpowered girl that can {{Teleport|ation}} whom Clark dated between Lana and Lois; think Lori Lemaris from the Silver Age, only evil. Became a {{Yandere}} and tried to MurderTheHypotenuse and ended up imprisoned. Was brought back reformed 1 season later; died in two episodes.
** 3: Jessica "Jessie" Brooks, a new student at Smallville High School who dressed provocatively and liked to party, so consequently, she got along well with Clark Kent when he was affected by red kryptonite. Jessie and Clark dated briefly. Clark told Lex that Jessie was his new girl. By the end of the episode, she and her father were on the run.
* ThatCameOutWrong: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]", Lois meets Martha after finding Clark in the field, amnesiac and naked:
-->'''Lois:''' Guess I'm a sucker for stray dogs and naked guys. ''[beat after seeing Martha's expression]'' Okay, [[LampshadeHanging that didn't come out right]].
* TheirFirstTime:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E02Mortal Mortal]]", Clark is BroughtDownToNormal and he and Lana end up losing their virginity with each other at the end of the episode.
** Because of alternative timelines shenanigans, Lois had two first time with Clark (to be clear, neither of these was Lois's first time). One in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E09Pandora Pandora]]" with an alternative future version of Clark and one in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E06Harvest Harvest]]" with the Clark from her timeline.
* ThemedAliases: The Flash is a punk kid possibly named Bart Allen who has a bunch of different [=IDs=] which have different names of the Comic Book versions of the Flash: Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E11E12AbsoluteJustice Absolute Justice]]", [[CelebrityParadox Jay Garrick is confirmed as existing as the original Flash.]]
* ThemeMusicWithholding: Music/JohnWilliams' Superman Theme plays in the final scene of the final episode.
* ThereIsAnother: Clark thinks that Cyrus Krupp in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E18Visitor Visitor]]" might be another Kryptonian. [[SubvertedTrope He's not.]]
* TheyKilledKennyAgain: In a dramatic use of the trope, Clark's fathers, or [[ParentalSubstitute anyone who treats Clark as a father would]], all end up dead, usually protecting him. Before the series starts, Jor-El died on Krypton to save him. Come Season 5, Jonathan dies after succumbing to his heart problems, which came about from him getting the power to save Clark in Season 3. Following this, off-screen at some point before Season 6, Virgil Swann is dead. Lionel, who is subsequently an avatar of Jor-El, is killed in Season 7 by Lex while covering up Clark's secret. Then in Season 9, the Kandorian clone of Jor-El is killed by another Kandorian. Plus, if the voice in the Fortress counts, the many times it's shut off, destroyed, taken over, or apparently destroyed pushes this number up quite a bit more.
* ThreeAmigos: Clark, Pete, and Chloe in the early seasons.
* TitleDrop: The names of the episodes tend to be mentioned by one character, it helps that the show has a OneWordTitle rule.
* TooDumbToLive:
** Basically everyone at one point or another, but especially Comicbook/LanaLang. (Honestly; going swimming, after dark, in the school pool, in Smallville?) One of Robert Anson Heinlein's sayings by way of his longest-lived character fits her perfectly: "Live and Learn. Or you won't live long." (The interested can look it up in ''The Notebooks of Lazarus Long''.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]" Clark, fully aware of exactly what Lex regularly experiments on, decides to follow Lex to his latest experiment.
* TookALevelInBadass: The premise of the whole series is Clark going from mild-mannered farmboy to the world's greatest hero. Arguably Clark's greatest leveling took place between Seasons 8 and 9, as evidenced by his ability to take on trained Kryptonian soldiers without his powers during Season 9. He fares better in his first fight than his last, but he "won" both of them.
* ToplessnessFromTheBack: This shot is often used whenever female characters are naked, often combined with a ShouldersUpNudity shot from the front.
* TornadoMove: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E04Homecoming Homecoming]]", future Superman puts out a nuclear plant fire by flying around it really fast.
* TragicKeepsake
** Lana wears a piece of the meteor that killed her parents as a pendant.
** Lex's watch, which his mother gave to him when he was a child before she died.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E10Skinwalker Skinwalker]]", after Kyla dies, Joseph gives Clark Kyla's bracelet for him to give to his true love. Sadly, it doesn't appear again.
** Jonathan's watch becomes this to Clark after his death. It gets stolen in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E13Vengeance Vengeance]]" by a gangster and Clark almost kills him for it. By the end of the episode, Lana buys it from a pawnshop and gives it to Clark.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E03Toxic Toxic]]", Tess wears her friend Megan's bracelet in honor of her.
* TrappedInASinkingCar: Kicks off the plot in the first episode. Lex Luthor isn't watching as he's driving and runs Clark over, shooting off a bridge and into the lake. Clark rips the roof off of Lex's car to rescue him. Much of the rest of the series has a subplot of Lex trying to figure out how Clark did that.
* TrashTheSet: Halfway through the final season, Luthor Manor (which had been a feature of the show since the "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E01Pilot Pilot]]") is burned to the ground by [[CloningBlues Alexander Luthor]]. And earlier in the season, the Talon coffee shop/upstairs apartment is blown up by a missile launched by the Comicbook/SuicideSquad.
* TraumaticHaircut: Lionel Luthor, [[BaldOfEvil unlike Lex]], had a lot of hair that he probably did not appreciate having shaved off for admission to general-population prison in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E22Covenant Covenant]]".
%%* TraumaCongaLine: Chloe, Chloe, oh dear god Chloe. She may cross to an IronWoobie but good god, the stuff that happens to her, it's amazing she didn't snap.
%%* TrialBalloonQuestion: "Visitor"
* TropeTrigger: Several episodes required Clark Kent to become BrainwashedAndCrazy. The writers handled this by retooling red kryptonite from the Superman canon, so that instead of having some bizarre random effect on Clark it always turned him into a sociopath. It got so whenever fans saw a red [[GreenRocks glowing rock]], they knew what trope would be in force for the episode.
* TuckAndCover: Clark's default mode of rescue, mostly when it comes to explosions. First example was in the second episode, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E02Metamorphosis Metamorphosis]]".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:U to V]]
* UltimateUniverse: Essentially this, being a re-interpretation of the Superman mythos. Not to mention that there are some DC Comics characters making guest appearances, sometimes heavily modified.
* UnConfession: Used several times throughout the series. The 8th season alone features Lois 'admitting' to being in love with Clark under lie detector and then claiming to have fooled the machine, and (in a separate episode) Clark revealing his identity to the world. In a past episode, Clark also told Lana the truth about him before resetting time after she died, and, in a strange inversion, he once [[LaserGuidedAmnesia erased the knowledge of his alien heritage from Chloe's mind]] -- which ''also'' didn't stick (i.e. she remembered).
* UnclePennybags: Clark and his friends benefited vastly from a series of sugar daddies. First, from Seasons 1-4, ComicBook/LexLuthor often bailed Clark & friends out of their money troubles, as he was still essentially [[LonelyRichKid trying to buy Clark's friendship.]] After Lex gets caught using armed and superpowered thugs to hold Clark's parents hostage (and thus force him to reveal his secret if it had gone as he'd planned) in Season 5, Clark distances himself from Lex. However, for most of Season 5, Lionel steps in and starts eagerly playing the role of UnclePennybags in a desperate attempt to impress Martha with his generosity. Lex occasionally still chips in money, but only in odd circumstances when he and Clark are thrown into a position where their interests coincide. Then from Season 6 onwards till the end, [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] steps in as Team Clark's big financier, as he is the major backer of the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}, eventually being joined in this role by former DarkActionGirl Tess Mercer in the later seasons.
* UndressingTheUnconscious:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E01Crusade Crusade]]", after touching the Mark of Transference symbol in Countess Isobel's tomb, Lana blacks out. When she next wakes up, she's in her bed back in her room, drenched in sweat and naked save for a ModestyBedsheet and with [[MissingTime no memory of what happened]]. Later when she [[ShowerScene showers]], both her and the audience finds the same symbol she touched is now tattooed on her back via a ToplessnessFromTheBack shot.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E03Facade Facade]]", Dr. Fine gasses Lois after she notices Lois had been investigating her kryptonite plastic surgery operation. When Lois wakes up, she finds she's been stripped down to her underwear and is [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable strapped in Dr. Fine's plastic surgery machine]]. Clark arrives shortly after and rescues her.
** {{Subverted}} in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E05Committed Committed]]", after getting wasted, Lois wakes up at the Kent's farm wearing only [[SexyShirtSwitch Clark's football jersey]] and freaks out for a bit thinking they either slept together or he undressed her, but Clark reassures her that nothing happened and she changed into his clothes on her own while she was drunk.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E05Roulette Roulette]]", after being drugged by Roulette, Oliver [[WakingUpElsewhere wakes up]] and notices his clothes are gone, he's been changed into a white suit, and is barefoot.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E15Conspiracy Conspiracy]]", Vala and the other Kandorians are kidnapped and stripped down to their underwear by Dr. Chisholm.
* TheUnfairSex: Lana's great aunt Nell Potter is [[SympatheticAdulterer portrayed very sympathetically even though she cheated on her husband Dexter with a man she just met and admitted she never loved him]]. To make matters worse, Dexter blamed himself for not letting her go and him spending the rest of his life in jail after [[FrameUp being framed for her murder was just punishment]]. It runs in the family: Lana repeatedly falls in love while she’s dating someone else. Yet the fact that Lex ReallyGetsAround makes him a horrible person who treats women like crap. This is especially jarring when you remember that in every committed relationship Lex has had before that episode the woman betrayed him. So it is very understandable why he would prefer meaningless flings. The woman who tried to kill him cheated on her fiancée. The only one to blame for her ruined relationship was her.
* UnfinishedBusiness: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E14Tomb Tomb]]", Chloe is possessed by the ghost of a girl to find and take revenge on her murderer.
* UngratefulBastard:
** Clark saves Lana's life on a weekly basis, but she continually acts as if he's this horrible person who can't be trusted, just because he likes his privacy.
** Lionel Luthor, as revealed in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E07Lineage Lineage]]". It turns out that Jonathan helped save Lex's life in the aftermath of the meteor shower. Lionel says if there's anything he can do for Jonathan, to let him know. He calls this favor in to ask for help faking Clark's adoption papers (since they couldn't just say he fell out of the sky in a spaceship), and Lional complies. But then he proceeds to use this favor as an opportunity to ''{{blackmail}}'' Jonathan into convincing the Ross brothers to sell their creamed corn factory to him.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Lois and Clark have a lot BelligerentSexualTension shortly after meeting but it evolves into {{UST}} as their relationship develops and they start getting along more. [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Both characters repeatedly and unconvincingly deny it]], but EveryoneCanSeeIt. Starting in Season 8, it gets so intense that neither Clark nor Lois can deny it any longer, and TheyDo in Season 9.
* UnwantedHarem:
** Lana used to get a StalkerWithACrush on an almost-weekly basis in the earliest seasons.
** Clark himself has had a few. Alicia started out as a welcome suitor, who quickly became unwanted when she turned into a StalkerWithACrush. Maxima from Season 8 would definitely count as one too. Chloe in the first few seasons also had a huge crush on Clark, but this apparently faded.
* VaguenessIsComing: Jor-El's warning about Darkseid's coming is so pointlessly vague that Clark actually thinks he's talking about something else and ends up doing nothing to stop him.
* VanHelsingHateCrimes:
** Happens a ''lot'' to Meteor-Freaks, who are routinely experimented on.
** The Kandorians perform this on ''humans'' in Season 9. With the added hypocrisy to then beg for ''mercy'' from a former test subject who decided to return the favor in kind.
* VehicleVanish: In a Season 9 episode, Major Zod realizes that Tess has played him. He looks across the street, and sees Tess raising her coffee cup in a sarcastic salute to him. A truck passes and in that split second, Tess is somehow gone. Unless she managed to make a highly-improbable jump onto the side of the truck and ride away with it, one wonders exactly how Tess did this, considering the fact that she has no superpowers.
* VerySpecialEpisode: Any episode with Dr. Swann ended with a PSA about donating to the Creator/ChristopherReeve Paralysis Foundation.
* VictimOfTheWeek: Played with at times by crossing with MonsterOfTheWeek. Also played straight, of course.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E09Lexmas Lexmas]]" has Clark coming across a suicidal binge-drinking "Santa", and helps him straighten out his life by catching him when he does fall from the top floor, and then roping him in to help out Chloe.
* VillainBall:
** In [[Recap/SmallvilleS06E02Sneeze Sneeze]]", Lex threatens to test the Super Soldier Serum on Lana. So yeah, you give your hostage a serum that turns them into a super-fast God that can overpower you, and trust they won't do it because you're pointing a gun at their lover. Powers that can, to quote the guy administering the serum, make you swat away bullets like bugs.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]", despite the fact that she has Lex tied to a chair, he knows who she is, and she's got her vengeance in hand, instead of killing him with the gun she had, the killer decides to kill him by lighting brandy on fire.
* VillainHasAPoint:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E16Descent Descent]]", Lex blames Clark for stressing Jonathan into death after the latter says that Lex could have had his father's approval if he'd only tried. However Clark was warned that saving Lana would have consequences, and he chose to, leading to the death of his own father. Meaning that Lex was absolutely right.
** Due to the anvilicious overuse of HumansAreTheRealMonsters to the point where nearly a single episode can’t go by without a single character even the title character themselves mentioning how flawed humans are, it is perfectly understandable why the Human Supremacist Movement wouldn’t want their planet to be overrun with god-like beings of similar mentalities.
* VillainousBreakdown:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E03Hothead Hothead]]", Coach Arnold loses his mind when he finds his [[PlayingWithFire fire powers]] can't hurt Clark, since he can't stand losing at ''[[SoreLoser anything]]''.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E19Crush Crush]]", when Justin realize the girl of his dreams knows what he's done, he starts to lose it.
-->'''Clark:''' You already killed Principal Kwan, how many more are you willing to kill?\\
'''Justin:''' As many as it takes!
** Major Zod was never exactly stable, what with being an AxeCrazy LargeHam with a HairTriggerTemper. He spent most of the season slowly deconstructing, as stress and his inability to cope with his failures encroached on his sanity. He was able to keep in under control for most of Season 9 however, recovering whenever he slipped up. In the SeasonFinale, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E22Salvation Salvation]]", however, he lost it, following his army's defection. He pulls a [[PowerLimiter Blue Kryptonite]] knife out from under his coat, jumps on Clark and engages him in a KnifeFight, ranting at the top of his lungs the entire time.
* VillainTeamUp: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E09Asylum Asylum]]", two meteor freaks, Eric Summers and Ian Randall, get assistance from [[HunterOfMonsters Van McNulty]] because he knows Clark's weakness. They plan to escape from Belle Reve by having Eric take Clark's powers. Leads to ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.
* VisionsOfAnotherSelf: Done a few times in order to explore otherwise forbidden character pairings.
* VitriolicBestBuds: ComicBook/LoisLane and Clark Kent naturally have this, from their first meeting in Season 4 to Season 7. From [[{{NakedFirstImpression}} their first meeting]] there was plenty of {{UST}} bubbling under the surface, but Clark and Lois both managed to mask it as them being merely Vitriolic Best Buds, although [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Chloe, Jimmy, and the Kents saw it for what it was]]; in Seasons 8 and 9 it finally gets to the point where neither can deny its existence any longer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:W to X]]
* WeaksauceWeakness
** ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'s guest appearance explained that he needed to be constantly wet or otherwise have a glass of water or he loses his immense strength and begins to wither. Considering he has had plenty of his own [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway superpowered problems]], this is especially glaring.
** Clark's weakness to Kryptonite is a huge problem considering [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere how common it is in Smallville]].
** Direct sunlight weakens Bizarro, to the point of causing GlamourFailure.
* WeightLossHorror: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E07Craving Craving]]" has [[BullyMagnet bullied]], overweight teen Jodi takes Kryptonite vegetable shakes in order to lose weight. The pounds melt off and she starts to get positive attention from her classmates. She is overjoyed until she realizes the weight loss will not stop. She eats everything in sight trying to keep weight on. When regular food no longer works, she [[HorrorHunger moves to freshly killed raw meat and then to sucking all the fat and marrow out of other humans]], the only thing that seems to sate the hunger. Unfortunately, it also kills them.
* WeirdnessCensor: The people of Smallville seem to have a pretty strong one. In one episode, Chloe is suspended from the school paper for writing about meteor freaks... by the same principal who, a few episodes before, was set on fire by a pyrokinetic (who later immolated himself in the football team's locker room without anyone finding anything amiss about the circumstances).
* WeirdnessMagnet: How else would one describe the town of Smallville? During the earlier seasons, [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] infection helped created a lot of "[[MonsterOfTheWeek Freaks of the week]]", who would then almost invariably gain a fixation on one of the main characters and end up trying to kill them, only for [[BigDamnHeroes Clark]] to save the day.
** Lana is overall the biggest weirdness magnet of the show with bizarre things happening to her that aren't even related to the meteor showers or her involvement with Clark
*** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E21Accelerate Accelerate]]": Lana's dead {{childhood friend}} is [[CloningBlues cloned]] and now is an EnfantTerrible with SuperSpeed.
*** Season four: Lana happens to have an ancient French witch as an ancestor who [[FamilialBodySnatcher starts possessing her]].
*** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E05Thirst Thirst]]": Lana is turned into a ''[[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]]''. She gets better.
** Lampshaded once by the sheriff when the police find the Kent house surrounded by a forcefield.
--->'''Officer:''' What the hell is this, Sheriff?\\
'''Sheriff:''' ''[sighs]'' Another day in Smallville.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Lex Luthor. Made evident when Chloe--who received TemporaryPowers to compel everyone around her to tell the unfiltered truth--questions Lex about why he can't just walk away from Lionel after all he's done to him, and Lex replies "Because he has the one thing that I want... I want him to love me." As if that wasn't enough, at the end of the episode an annoyed Lionel hatefully sneers that Lex is really starting to annoy him and demands to know "What do you want from me?!" and a dejected Lex quietly replies "It doesn't matter, Dad. Because I'm never going to get it." It gets to the point that, for the first couple of seasons, he was even trying to get a "Well done, son" from Clark's father. He ain't picky.\\
\\
Lex actually ''does'' get a minor "Well done, son" from Jonathan. In an episode where Lionel froze all of Lex's assets, and Lex crashed at the Kent farm rather than submit to Lionel, Jonathan foisted a bunch of farm chores off on Lex to earn his keep. Jonathan later compliments Lex that he did every filthy, backbreaking job Jonathan could think of, did them without complaining, and did them ''well''.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: One of the premises of the series asks the question, "What if Clark Kent and Lex Luthor were once best friends before becoming mortal enemies?"
* WellIntentionedExtremist
** Lex Luthor's main drive starts out as "protecting mankind from aliens and meteor freaks". Yes, Clark and Chloe are probably on those two hitlists respectively, and you know where he ended up.
** Tess Mercer wants to save the world, with leads her to do several questionable things, such as her "alliance" with Zod and the Kandorians.
** All of Jor-El's decisions and manipulations are for the goal of turning Clark into the hero he's destined to be.
* WhamEpisode: Season 10's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E15Fortune Fortune]]" was--based on the fact that Creator/AllisonMack was only going to be in five episodes in the FinaleSeason--Chloe's probably-final appearance, so her leaving in this episode was not a surprise. The fact that Oliver goes with her for an undetermined length of time is the surprise. Oh, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and Tess and Emil might]] just be [[PairTheSpares hooking up now]]...
* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: Spoken verbatim by Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E14Masquerade Masquerade]]". Naturally, [[TemptingFate quite a bit does.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Lucas, Lex's brother, vanishes after his first episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E15Prodigal Prodigal]]". Initially justified as he was in hiding from Lionel. However, when both Lionel and Lex die, their is no reason for him not to step forward and claim a huge inheritance. One could argue that Lex's will left everything to Tess, so there was nothing for Lucas to claim. Still, it's a bit odd he was never mentioned, either after Lex's death, in Earth-2 (unless he never existed there), or after it's revealed Tess is ''also'' a Luthor. It's also possible that Lex had Lucas killed to avoid the inheritance problem after Lionel's death. Tess didn't know about the Luthor-blood thing yet, so she was no threat.
** Averted with Pete, who vanishes for several seasons, but [[TheBusCameBack eventually does resurface]] and Clark and him get closure.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E06Prey Prey]]" ends with Tess recruiting Randy Klein to her team, but he's never seen again ever when the Injustice gang makes their debut.
** In Season 9, Mia Dearden (the second Speedy in the comics) appears in two episodes, over the course of which Green Arrow accepts her as his sidekick. She is then never mentioned again until the season 11 comics.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E20Prophecy Prophecy]]", Toyman assembles a LegionOfDoom out of Metallo, Roulette, Dark Archer, Black Manta, Captain Cold, and Solomon Grundy, a team he calls Marionette Ventures. He shows them a list of the heroes and commands them to each target and kill one of them. They never appear nor are mentioned again, not even in the Season 11 comics.
** Conner Kent shows up partway through Season 10. Clark invites him to live on the farm and he enrolls in Smallville High. A couple of episodes later he's '[[PutOnABus visiting Martha in Washington]]' and he never shows up or is mentioned again. Not even, y'know, when the world is ending and having another person around with Clark's powers could be useful.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E17Combat Combat]]" has Clark upset after he unintentionally kills the decidedly non-human alien Titan in a forced arena fight.
** Lampshaded and tossed it aside in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E20Arctic Arctic]]". The sentient, apparently emotional robot Brainiac, at Clark's mercy, tells him he could never kill a man. Clark quickly replies [[JustAMachine "You're a machine,"]] then electrifies him.
* WholePlotReference: For a show about a young Clark Kent, the show did sometimes like to take the idea of "What if (Movie Plot) with Superman as a side character?".
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E17Void Void]]" has Lana living the first half of ''Film/{{Flatliners}}''.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E19Mercy Mercy]]" bears many similarities to the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' franchise, with a very similar style of video message from the captor as well as seemingly inescapable and DeadlyGame taking place within a run-down industrial setting which is designed to teach some kind of lesson to the participants.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E11Legion Legion]]" shares lots of similarities with the ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E3NewKidsInTown New Kids in Town]]", where Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Chameleon Boy come from the future to help a young Clark Kent defeat Brainiac.
** In the episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E05Roulette Roulette]]", Oliver's storyline is based on the 1997 Michael Douglas film ''Film/TheGame'', right up to the male lead having suicidal tendencies and it all turning out to be FriendlyScheming.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E15Fortune Fortune]]", is based on ''Film/TheHangover'', as the main characters are 'drugged' which resulted in them getting out of control and [[WhatDidIDoLastNight waking up with no memories of the night before]]. They also piece together what happened the night before via clues and video footage.
* WhosLaughingNow: Several of the MonsterOfTheWeek in the early seasons were someone who got stressed/abused by people, and then suddenly obtained superpowers from [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] and went mad on {{Revenge}}.
* WhyAreYouNotMySon: This is part of the subtext of the slow disintegration of Clark and Lex's friendship. Lex's father Lionel seems constantly disappointed with his son, while at the same time respecting Clark immensely, to the point of actually calling him "son" to his face. Clark, for his, part despises Lionel for a number of reasons, most notably ''because'' of Lionel's [[AbusiveParents continued abuse of Lex]]. Also inverted with Lex, who for several years wants Clark's father Jonathan to be [[ParentalSubstitute his father]] instead of Lionel.
* WickedStepmother: Jennifer Small, the wife of Lana's biological father Henry, threatens to divorce her husband due to his trying to forge a relationship with his daughter, and not to Henry himself but to Lana, attempting to guilt the poor girl for the simple problem that Jennifer is envious that she is no [[ItsAllAboutMe longer the only important woman in her husband's life]], causing Lana to cut ties with her father, whom the two realize now fully embrace and love each other as Father and Daughter, so he may preserve his marriage and his family.
* WidowedAtTheWedding: Narrowly {{averted|trope}} in two on-screen weddings:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E10Bride Bride]]", Doomsday crashes Jimmy and Chloe's wedding and almost kills Jimmy.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]", Darkseid, possessing Oliver, tried to put a gold kryptonite ring on Clark's finger, but fortunately Chloe spotted it just in time.
* WhatTheHellHero: Extremely common, given Clark is very inexperienced and young and makes several mistakes, in both his social and hero life, and gets chewed out a lot by other characters. Chloe and Oliver are also frequently given this due to their UnscrupulousHero tendencies.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever:
** It's strongly implied by both more knowledgeable aliens and characters with PsychicPowers that Clark will outlive his loved ones. This was a recurring theme especially during Season 7, where it was used to create tension in Clark and Lana's relationship.
** Lionel himself never intended to live forever, as he gave his own heart to resurrect Lex in exchange for having Darkseid claim his soul.
** The character of Curtis Knox actually has had to deal with this multiple times, leading him to commit multiple murders to acquire meteor-infected body parts so his (current) wife can live forever with him, since he is immortal. He's like a worst-case possible future version of Clark, crossed with Vandal Savage.
* WhyAreWeWhispering: In the "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E01Pilot Pilot]]", between Pete Ross and Chloe Sullivan. Chloe doesn't know why they're whispering and doesn't whisper herself.
* WickedCultured: Lionel, Lex and Tess too all have high-class taste and wicked personalities. It runs in the family.
* WildcardExcuse: Used often in by Clark during the earlier seasons, when asked about his interest in the caves or any Native American symbols that were related to his Kryptonian heritage were met with "It's for a term paper" -- to the point where Lex himself actually [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it later. What makes it doubly strange is that he had a perfectly reasonable excuse: His dead girlfriend died to protect the caves, and he is trying to honor her memory by learning as much about them as possible. He uses this excuse all of once, and Lex actually buys it.
* WildTeenParty:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E08Jitters Jitters]]", Clark Kent accidentally hosted, and managed to clean the entire trashed house in a few seconds with his SuperSpeed -- only to find [[HomeEarlySurprise his parents are back early]] and are standing in the door SarcasticClapping before explaining they called six times last night, and none of the six people who answered even knew a Clark Kent. However, they're soon distracted when Clark tells them about finding Jonathan's friend Earl Jenkins (who's since been taken in the hospital and is wanted for murder) in the loft.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E08Spell Spell]]" has another wild party (though this one was Lois's fault - it was a surprise party for Chloe's birthday), and again Clark's parents find evidence of it happening. Again, they're somewhat distracted from it by more serious matters: namely, when Clark tells them about the witches he was dealing with the night before, and that magic can hurt him.
* WillTheyOrWontThey:
** Chloe and Clark, while DoomedByCanon, was heavily teased in the early seasons but nothing ever came out of it and Chloe eventually moved on.
** Clark and Lois were teased [[ForegoneConclusion ever since her introduction]] in season 4, with heavy BelligerentSexualTension at first that eventually evolved into UnresolvedSexualTension when they started to get along to them eventually becoming the OfficialCouple in season 9 and 10.
* WithFriendsLikeThese:
** Clark and Pete the former repeatedly forced Clark to lie, cheat, steal, threatened to expose his secret then act like nothing happened. This is especially seen in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E13Velocity Velocity]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E13Hero Hero]]".
** This is a major thing with Clark and Lex before they become enemies. Even while claiming to be the best of friends, they are always heavily distrustful of one another, accusing each other of various crimes (often without cause or evidence of any kind), and making pointed remarks about each other's psychological and relationship problems. How much of this is planned building on their later relationship is an exercise left up to the viewer.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: All over the place, especially in the earlier seasons. Kryptonite infection usually results in violent obsession in those who gain powers, and the early seasons are littered full of "freak of the week" encounters with previously normal (if often a bit self-centered or jerkish) people who gain powers and soon embark on insane rampages.
* WomanScorned:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E14Zero Zero]]", Amanda Rothman is revealed to have shot and killed her fiancé Jude when she finds him at Club Zero with other women.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E07Lineage Lineage]]", we learn about Rachel Dunleavy, a nurse hired by Lionel when his wife's heart condition whom eventually had an affair with Lionel, resulting in a son named Lucas whom Lionel took to be raised somewhere else while she was placed in a psychiatric ward. She comes back to Smallville years later with a beef against Lionel.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]", a stalker of Lex tries to kill him in revenge for breaking her heart after she cheated on her fiancee with him and he didn't return her calls declaring her love for him or even acknowledge her in any way.
* WonderTwinPowers
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E02Mortal Mortal]]", a pair of freaks of the week are some CreepyTwins (though adults) who can generate [[BarrierWarrior force fields]] when their hand's touch.
** The ''actual'' ComicBook/WonderTwins turn up in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E08Idol Idol]]". Complete with "Powers, activate!"
* WorkingOutTheirEmotions: Tess is often seem training or practicing some sport or martial art [[KingpinInHisGym in the Luthor Manor]]. In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E04Instinct Instinct]]" she tells Chloe she does it because it "focuses her anger".
* WorkingTheSameCase: Happens a few times, where characters finding out they were both separately working on the "case of the week". Most notably and awkward one is in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E06Exposed Exposed]]" where Lois ([[DirtyHarriet posing as a stripper]]) is assigned to dance for Clark (who's posing as a client).
* WorldOfBadass: Being the first fully-fleshed out live-action version of Franchise/TheDCU, Smallville quite naturally evolved into a ''massive'' example of this trope. First of all, it's centered around the future Franchise/{{Superman}}, young Clark Kent, along with BadassNormal characters like ComicBook/LexLuthor, ComicBook/LoisLane, and Jonathan Kent. And then we get other superheroes like ComicBook/GreenArrow and the rest of the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica, along with many of DC's supervillains. Put it this way, almost every main or recurring character (and even most of the one-shot characters) either ''are'' badass already, or ''become'' badass with CharacterDevelopment.
* WorldOfMuscleMen: Maybe because it's based on the ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comics but the series has not just Clark but all the males muscular.
* WorldOfSnark: Almost every main character and several of the recurring ones qualify as a DeadpanSnarker, with SnarkToSnarkCombat being extremely often.
* WorstNewsJudgmentEver:
** There's an episode where the entire front page of the ''Daily Planet'' was devoted to a bank robbery. The commentary track joked about how you don't get a font that big unless the world is ending.
** Another episode had the ''Daily Planet'' featuring Lois Lane's ''historical'' report on a former hero society up on the front page. Apparently ''nothing'' happened ''anywhere'' in the world that day.
* WouldHitAGirl: There are plenty of female Meteor Freaks and metahumans out there, meaning that this trope is in full effect. It would be easier to list the guys who ''won't'' hit back, as everyone from [[TheHeavy Lex]] to [[AntiHero Oliver]] to ''[[MessianicArchetype Clark]]'' is more than willing to. It's never really discussed either; in a world full of superheroes, it's just an occupational hazard. Tess in particular gets {{Neck Lift}}ed by Clark a couple of times.
* WouldntHitAGirl: PlayedWith, Clark doesn't have this a code, but it is enforced by the writing. It's notable how many times he gets weakened by [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere conveniently placed Kryptonite]] and gets his ass handed to him by a female villain who then gets conveniently defeated by happenstance, whilst he's allowed to throw around male villains who are a lot weaker than him. Once [[ActionGirl Lois]] is introduced, [[DesignatedGirlFight she's usually the one who gets to fight the female villains]].
** In Tina Greer's episodes she has to morph into a male form before Clark's "allowed" to fight her.
** {{Justified}} in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E08Bloodline Bloodline]]" with Clark hesitating to fight Faora, because she was possessing Lois's body.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Two Phantom Zone escapees, [[ImAHumanitarian Aldar]] and [[BloodKnight Titan]] specialize in these. Then again, they are played by Wrestling/{{Batista}} and Wrestling/{{Kane}} respectively.
* WritersCannotDoMath: The {{Retcon}} done in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E13Power Power]]" where instead of Lana leaving Clark of her own free will, she was kidnapped by Lex. This means that Lex was building the Prometheus suit to fight Clark and save his battered body long before he was even aware of Clark's secret and was wounded in the Fortress. Sure he had deals going on like Aries that led to it, but Lana seemed to be on to it way sooner than she should have. That was cool but everything about it here just fell totally flat. There is no way Lex would have let it get out to Lana like that, especially after the Fortress when he needed it the most.
* WroteTheBook:
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E03Hothead Hothead]]", Lex claims the Luthors wrote the book on [[AwkwardSilence uncomfortable silences]].
** Chloe also says she wrote the book on pining over Clark.
* XanatosGambit:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E11E12AbsoluteJustice Absolute Justice]]" has Amanda Waller and Checkmate. She uses her Suicide Squad (or a member of it) to go after the JSA, not really caring that he kills a couple but killing him when he tried to kill everyone. Why? She wanted to bring them out of hiding to join the budding JLA and prepare for the coming Apocalypse (or is it Apokolips?).
** Both Clark and Bizarro were searching for Dax-Ur for different reasons. Brainiac separately told both of them to find Dax-Ur's shield, a device that would transport the user to Dax-Ur himself. Clark manages to find it and locates Dax-Ur. It didn't matter to Brainiac who reached Dax-Ur. What's important was that the activation of the shield emitted a beacon which allowed Brainiac to reach Dax-Ur, who had created him. Brainiac wanted to download information from Dax-Ur's brain to upgrade himself and become more powerful.
** In Season 5, Brainiac had wanted to use Clark as Zod's vessel. When that didn't work, he simply used Lex as Zod's vessel.
* XanatosSpeedChess:
** Lionel Luthor is extremely good at this. To exemplify: When Chloe is blessed/cursed with the gift of having anyone answer her questions truthfully, she does of course start asking Lionel questions. He realizes what's going on after the first question and immediately counter-attacks her on her weak spots, thereby distracting a highly intelligent, fearless and incredibly nosy young woman from using her golden chance to get into the secrets of a powerful, rich baddie. She could have asked questions every moment, she was just too stunned to do so.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E10Persona Persona]]", Brainiac pulls one to track down his creator, Dax-Ur. First, he directs Bizarro to find Dax-Ur; this leads Bizarro to search for Dax-Ur's shield, which leads him to the Fortress, alerting Jor-El to his return and prompting him to free Clark from his icy imprisonment. Clark then goes to [=LuthorCorp=] and speaks with Brainiac disguised as Lionel, who tells him how to use the shield. After obtaining the shield from Chloe (who kept it from Bizarro because she correctly suspected that he wasn't Clark), Clark activates it, causing it to emit a beacon that allows Brainiac to later find Dax-Ur.
** Chloe herself pulled one in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E05Roulette Roulette]]", regarding a complicated BatmanGambit, manipulating Oliver and Clark in an attempt to help Oliver find his inner heroism.
* XRayVision: One of the most common Kryptonian powers, which Clark gains in the appropriately named "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E04XRay X-Ray]]". Clark's vision do indeed resemble real-life X-ray photos, using the colors blue, white and black during it. On a few occasions, Clark has used the "see-through vision" variant, such as the first time he activated it and [[AccidentalPervert accidentally got a peek inside the girl's locker room]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Y to Z]]
* YankTheDogsChain
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]" had Clark finally tell Lana his secret and propose to her at the same time. That was TheTeaser! She accepts the proposal, Jonathan Kent wins the state senate seat, beating Lex Luthor and everything seems perfect up til the 30-minute mark when Lana is killed in a car accident caused by Lex trying to get Clark's secret out of her. Clark gets Jor-El to [[ResetButton rewind time]], ignoring his warning that [[BalancingDeathsBooks the universe would find someone else to die if he saves Lana]]. Clark doesn't tell Lana his secret, but Jonathan still wins the senate seat only to die from a heart attack.
** Season 8 did this to [[TheWoobie Chloe]] all the time.
*** Finally rescued from the HellholePrison after locked in there for three months... Clark [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dies in her arms]] (he gets better, obviously).
*** Meeting this friendly, handsome paramedic... turns out to be the human form of Doomsday.
*** Getting married to Jimmy... only for Doomsday to crash the wedding, kidnap her to be possessed by Brainiac and maul Jimmy half to death. Oh, and she came ''this'' close to dying about three times.
*** Clark reveals his secret to the world and she is happy for him... then Doomsday killed her. Good thing the ResetButton was handy.
*** Jimmy is finally getting better and [[TemptingFate she is convinced it is going to be happily ever after]]...Jimmy divorces her and spirals into drug abuse at the end of the ''same episode''.
*** Davis is split from Doomsday, Jimmy makes up with her... then Davis goes crazy jealous and kills Jimmy. Lois vanishes and Clark abandons her.
* YetAnotherChristmasCarol:
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E09Lexmas Lexmas]]" actually subverted when Lex decides to pursue money and power in order to save the life of his potential future wife Lana, who would have died if he had become a NiceGuy, setting up his future status as the antithesis of Franchise/{{Superman}}. Really more of an ItsAWonderfulPlot.
** Despite not happening at Christmas, "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E04Homecoming Homecoming]]" fits the mold better, with Brainiac 5 showing Clark his past, present, and future to get him back on track.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E18Visitor Visitor]]", Clark's words to Cyrus as he urges him to heal a mortally injured Kyle.
-->'''Clark:''' Cyrus, you can save him.\\
'''Cyrus:''' They're here. I can't; I'll be stranded on this world forever.\\
'''Clark:''' You have the power to heal.\\
'''Cyrus:''' Why do you care about them?\\
'''Clark:''' Cyrus, don't let him die. We both know you're better than that.
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E19Memoria Memoria]]": In a PetTheDog moment, Lionel gives a speech to Lex when explaining him the significance of the lead box he gifted him.
-->'''Lionel:''' So when people are cruel to you, you take all of your fears and your doubts and you put them in here, in this box. And you lock it. And you'll find that '''you're stronger than you think you are.'''
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E12Fracture Fracture]]", Clark tells Alexander/Lex's good side that he is stronger than he thinks.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]" Lex, in his own twisted way, gives Clark a pep talk, reminding him of the destiny the two have yet to play out.
-->'''Lex:''' You and I, we will both be ''great'' men. Because of each other. You and I have a destiny together Clark, on opposite sides.
* YouDontLookLikeYou:
** ComicBook/LanaLang's look is heavily altered from her look in the comics. From a Caucasian redhead to part-Asian with dark brown hair.
** ''Smallville'''s version of Mxyzptlk is not longer a cartoony imp, but a normal human teenager with short brown hair.
* YouMustBeCold: Clark has done this on a few occasions thanks to the fact that he almost always wears a jacket. Most rescuees were girls, but one was a little boy who had been aged into a teenager, [[ClothingDamage tearing his clothes]].
* YouNeverDidThatForMe: Jimmy has this attitude towards Chloe, who has done more for Clark than he would ever know.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E20Arctic Arctic]]", Brainiac is impressed that Chloe, a member of a [[PunyEarthlings "weak-willed" race]], would be brave enough to use kryptonite on Kara.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E16Scion Scion]]", Tess [[OutGambitted ousts]] Earth-2 Lionel from [=LuthorCorp=], which he had previously stolen from her. After she explains how she proved that he's not Earth-1 Lionel, she adds that she had spiked his drink with nano-trackers so that if he tries to hurt her or the rest of the Justice League, she'd know where to find him. As Lionel leaves he takes one parting shot by telling her that no matter how hard she tries to [[HeelFaceTurn change]] for Clark, she'll ''always'' be a Luthor (which is one of the few times he acknowledges that she's more his daughter than just by [=DNA=]). Given the nervous and almost-ill look on Tess's face as he walks away, she was clearly thinking this trope.
* YourDoorWasOpen: Characters barge in each others homes so often that characters {{Lampshade}} it. Particularly nonsensical in the Luthor mansion, which has cameras and security staff yet guests often walk into his study unannounced, surprising him.
* YoureJustJealous: Lana often reacts this way when Clark tries attempts to warn Lana her about the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Freak of the Week]]. Which to be fair, [[CrazyJealousGuy he also usually is]].
* YoureNotMyFather:
** Clark says this to Jonathan under the effect of the Red Kryptonite in both "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E04Red Red]]" and "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E01Exile Exile]]".
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E23Exodus Exodus]]": Clark says this to Jor-El when the latter insists he will obey him.
-->'''Jor-El:''' You will obey me, Kal-El.\\
'''Clark:''' You're not my father. I won't let you control me!
* YourWorstNightmare: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E10Scare Scare]]" a [=LuthorCorp=] project goes awry when an explosion occurs and causes a toxin to be released into the air, causing the townspeople of Smallville to hallucinate their worst fears.
* YoyoPlotPoint
** Clark and Lana kept hooking op and breaking up ([[TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife usually due to his secret]]) for over 8 seasons, to the points some viewers started to see the relationship as a RomanticPlotTumor.
** The earlier seasons had this problem with Lex Luthor, who was repeatedly shown to be [[FaceHeelRevolvingDoor good, then evil, then good again, then evil again]]. Repeat ad nauseum until he finally switched for good.
* ZenSurvivor: Lionel is this to his son. By screwing with Lex's head, Lionel hopes to turn his son into the man he always wanted him to be.
* ZombieApocalypse: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E03Rabid Rabid]]" has a mysterious virus turn most of Metropolis' citizens into violent zombies.
* ZorroMark: Clark started doing this with his famous "S". The practice was mocked by Oliver in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E03Rabid Rabid]]", who thought Clark was being egotistical. "What does the 'S' stand for, 'Superstar'?"
[[/folder]]

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Thr "Prometheus Suit" is a {{Nanomachine}} skin graft that is capable of providing SuperStrength and SuperSpeed to its wearer. It was made by [=LuthorCorp=] for Lex, but Lana convinces the scientist in charge to give it to her instead.

* TheUnfairSex: Lana's great aunt Nell Potter is [[GoodAdulteryBadAdultery portrayed very sympathetically even though she cheated on her husband Dexter with a man she just met and admitted she never loved him]]. To make matters worse, Dexter blamed himself for not letting her go and him spending the rest of his life in jail after [[FrameUp being framed for her murder was just punishment]]. It runs in the family: Lana repeatedly falls in love while she’s dating someone else. Yet the fact that Lex ReallyGetsAround makes him a horrible person who treats women like crap. This is especially jarring when you remember that in every committed relationship Lex has had before that episode the woman betrayed him. So it is very understandable why he would prefer meaningless flings. The woman who tried to kill him cheated on her fiancée. The only one to blame for her ruined relationship was her.

** Black Kryptonite and it's LiteralSplitPersonality properties first appeared on ''Smallville'' and rather quickly made it's way into the comics, most notably appearing in Jeph Loeb's run on [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Supergirl]].

** Lex's dad, Lionel, withholds affection and approval from his son in the warped belief that it will make him stronger. Their tortured relationship is one of the keystones of the series, and ends very badly when [[spoiler:Lex kills his dad]].

** Believe it or not, ''Jor-El'' is one of the main antagonists of Season 3. Even after the season, he still does pretty nasty stuff like [[spoiler:[[TheyWereHoldingYouBack freezing Chloe almost to death and intending to trap Clark in a crystal until everyone he cares for has died.]] The GrandFinale does reveal [[WellIntentionedExtremist this was all to test Clark's will in order to make him the hero he's meant to be...]] though he did some pretty dark stuff in pursuit of that, and it's all fairly unneeded given how well Clark fared without Jor-El's intervention.]]

** Clark pats Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E17Onyx Onyx]]" when [[spoiler:evil (well, eviler) Lex]] knocked her out cold.
** Clark gently touches Chloe in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E09Abyss Abyss]]" along with a forehead kiss [[spoiler:before wiping her memories of his secret]].

%%* AIIsACrapshoot: Brainiac (it's implied that Zod corrupted his programming).

** Keeping up with its comic book origins, has '''L'''ois '''L'''ane, '''L'''ionel '''L'''uthor, '''L'''ana '''L'''ang, '''L'''ucy '''L'''ane, and '''L'''ex '''L'''uthor (though his first name is actually short for Alexander). The [[AlliterativeFamily Luthor tree]] also gets another one after TheReveal that [[spoiler: Tess Mercer was born '''L'''utessa '''L'''ena '''L'''uthor]]. Several other minor character also apply, such as '''Z'''atanna '''Z'''atara, '''J''''onn '''J''''onnz, and '''G'''ordon '''G'''odfrey.

%%* BadassArmy: Zod and the Kandorians in Season 9.

** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E09Abyss Abyss]]": [[spoiler:Brainiac started [[LaserGuidedMemory removing Chloe's memories]], knowing that in his desperation, Clark would rebuild the [[DeusExMachina Fortress]] to save her, which allows Brainiac to take over the Fortress, fully morph Davis into Doomsday and possess Chloe, which is another gambit as Brainiac knows Clark will never hurt Chloe even with Brainiac inside her.]]
** The whole episode of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E05Roulette Roulette]]" is one courtesy of [[spoiler:Chloe Sullivan]], who's revealed to have hired the villain in order to get Oliver to return to heroism and did it right under Clark's nose. Like all things involving Oliver, it is of rather dubious morality. She claims [[IDidWhatIHadToDo she did what she had to do]], and for the most part she anticipated Oliver's actions, but with [[PhysicalGod Clark]] involved but not knowing the plan, it could [[GoneHorriblyWrong go horribly wrong]] very easily.
** Amanda Waller pulls off one in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E11E12AbsoluteJustice Absolute Justice]]". It looks like she's having the members of the long-retired ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica killed as a continuation of the government frame that originally put them out of business. Reality is [[spoiler: she's provoking the surviving JSA members to come out of retirement to get back in the game, and meet and inspire the new generation of superheroes, because of something coming that will cause the planet to need all of its heroes]].
%%** Clark and Oliver pull one off in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E19Dominion Dominion]]". They knew Zod wouldn't be able to resist killing Clark himself.

** Season 8: The most complicated season, with a huge BigBadEnsemble, including [[TheBaroness Tess Mercer]], [[TheManBehindTheMan Faora]], [[spoiler:[[EvilCripple Lex]]]], and DiscOneFinalBoss [[OmnicidalManiac Brainiac]] all vying for the role. All of them have their own agendas, and the [[{{Chessmaster}} complicated plans]] to back it up. Yet when [[EvilerThanThou the smoke clears]] it's SerialKiller and {{Antihero}} [[DrivenToVillainy Davis Bloome]] and his SuperpoweredEvilSide [[PersonOfMassDestruction Doomsday]] who step up to the plate as TheHeavy, providing most of the drama in the season's latter half, and serving as the FinalBoss to boot.

** The Season 11 continuation comics have Lex back and causing trouble again on a mostly regular basis, but also have a story arc dealing with the larger threat of [[spoiler: [[ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis the]] [[ComicBook/FinalCrisis Monitors]]]], who seek to impose order by [[OmnicidalManiac destroying all life]] [[spoiler: and have already succeeded with Earth-2.]]

** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E20Obscura Obscura]]", Chloe is also buried alive, but Clark manages to rescue her. She is later shown to be traumatized by the event. The man who did it [[spoiler:was a cop who wanted the credit of finding her. Whether he would have done so before or after she died is unclear.]]

%%** Jor-El and Zod were also similar to Clark and Lex.

* CaliforniaUniversity: ''Smallville'' almost did this. Clark and Lana were supposed to be attending the fictional Central Kansas A&M, which was close to Smallville. But then Clark discovered that his professor [[spoiler:was a super-powered alien robot from another galaxy bent on world domination]], which derailed his studies. He dropped out, ostensibly temporarily, but then the whole college storyline was just quietly forgotten, and Clark somehow managed to become a newspaper reporter with a half-semester of education under his belt. ...So really, this is a near-miss trope.

* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Jor-El knows more than where Clark lives. He is perfectly fine in (usually indirectly) harming his loved ones if it drives him to fulfill his destiny. Like [[spoiler:freezing Chloe half to death]] in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E01Arrival Arrival]]" and [[spoiler:intending to trap Clark in the Fortress until ''everyone he loves is dead'']] in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E09Gemini Gemini]]".

** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E09Gemini Gemini]]" also takes place around Christmas, but the festival tones are much less prevalent. [[spoiler:[[TwistedChristmas Other than the bit with the secret Santa putting a bomb in Chloe's handbag...]]]]

** During season 8, [[spoiler: Chloe successfully manages to stab Clark, Jimmy (her fiance and then husband), and villain Davis in the back]] almost simultaneously. Then in Season 9, she implements Orwellian measures against Clark's will, ostensibly to "protect Metropolis." This includes putting up cameras in Clark's house and casually mentioning that she spends large chunks of the day surfing through everyone in Metropolis's cell phone conversations.

** Season 1: [[spoiler:Lewis & Laura Lang (appeared in flashbacks), Principal Kwan]].
** Season 2: [[spoiler:Roger Nixon, Steven Hamilton, Ryan James, Tina Greer, Dr. Walden]].
** Season 3: [[spoiler:Morgan Edge, Ian Randall, Pete Dinsmore, Frank Loder]].
** Season 4: [[spoiler:Alicia Baker, Bridgette Crosby, Genevieve and Jason Teaque]].
** Season 5: [[spoiler:Sheriff Nancy Adams]].
** Season 6: [[spoiler:Raya, Dr. Langston]].
** Season 7: [[spoiler:[[BackForTheDead Sasha Woodman]], Agent Carter, clone Lara and Zor-El, Patricia Swann, Gina, Edward Teague]].
** Season 8: [[spoiler:Regan Matthews, Linda Lake]]. While this season has the highest body count thanks to Doomsday being around, tons of it are one-episode appearances or even unnamed.
** Season 9: [[spoiler:Alia (twice, ItMakesSenseInContext), clone Jor-El, Basqat, Doctor Fate, Faora, Zod may have killed more of the C-List [[GovernmentConspiracy Checkmate]] agents offscreen]].
** Season 10: [[spoiler:Hawkman, Earth-2 Lionel Luthor]].
* ClonesArePeopleToo: Alexander Luthor is considered his own person in Series/{{Smallville}}, and not just a clone of Lex. Tess even raises him as her own son in an attempt to keep him from turning out like his progenitor. Eventually we find out that [[spoiler: half of his DNA comes from Clark]] and he changes his name to Conner Kent, becoming like Clark's little brother.

** Tess Mercer is a combination of Mercy Graves (Lex Luthor's assistant from ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''), Miss Tessmacher (One of Lex's underlings from ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''), and [[spoiler: Lena Luthor (Lex's sister from the comics).]] In the Season 11 comics she becomes [[spoiler: Comicbook/RedTornado, essentially the ''Comicbook/{{New 52}}'' BrainUploading {{Gynoid}} version of the Tornado decomposited from Earth-2 Lois and composited onto Tess]].

%%* CreepyChild: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E21Accelerate Accelerate]]"

** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]" , Clark makes another one to save [[spoiler:Lana's life. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Jonathan dies instead.]]]]
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E22Vessel Vessel]]", Lionel says Lex has done it, and the devil [[spoiler:(Zod)]] will always come to collect.
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E17Sleeper Sleeper]]", [[spoiler:Jimmy makes one with Lex to protect Chloe from government agents.]] He knows there would be a price. [[spoiler:Lex comes to collect in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E20Arctic Arctic]]", MagnificentBastard-style.]]

%%* TheDogBitesBack: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E19Precipice Precipice]]"

** During Season 8, [[spoiler:Davis Bloom]] would blackout and turn into a monster [[spoiler:(specifically Doomsday)]] at random, but found a way to stop it by killing people, leading him to becoming a SerialKiller to avoid turning into the monster. For those who don't know the psychology behind compulsive serial killers, when a serial killer doesn't kill for a certain amount of time, they feel psychologically compelled to kill, sort of like they're being taken over by a metaphorical monster. In [[spoiler:Davis']] case, he was being taken over by a ''physical'' monster.
%%* DoingResearch

** Chloe Sullivan's mother ended up in a mental institution and [[spoiler:both mother and daughter have psychosis-inducing meteor infection.]]
** Lex Luthor probably has it worst. His mother [[spoiler:murdered his younger brother]]. She soon died afterwards. And he is [[ArchnemesisDad definitely not on friendly terms]] with his father. [[spoiler:Both he and his father are {{Self Made Orphan}}s.]]

** Lois Lane's mother died when she was six, and her army general father is not very nice. [[spoiler:She also has a [[ManipulativeBitch manipulative]], backstabbing sister.]]

** In later seasons this would extend to {{recurring character}}s and several cases of ''series regulars'' [[spoiler:Whitney Fordman, Jason Teague and Davis Bloome]] who'd be KilledOffForReal, might be mourned in the episode they died, and then either never mentioned again or mentioned in only the briefest most casual way for plot purposes.

** Grant Gabriel. Lionel does mourn him. For one episode. [[spoiler:He is a clone of his biological son.]] Which is one more episode than Lois ever mourned for him, [[RomanticFalseLead even though she knew him longer.]]

** Downplayed with [[spoiler:Lionel Luthor]], who's mentioned quite a bit after his death. However most of his mentions are of the [[spoiler:evil [[MagnificentBastard bastard]]]] he was at the start of the series and not as the [[spoiler:ally]] he became in the show's second half.
** Also averted, somewhat with [[spoiler:Jimmy Olsen]]. His death sends Clark into a dark spiral, and Chloe isn't much better off, if at all, and Clark refusing to go back to save him, citing the example of what happened when he averted Lana's death and lost his father instead, is a key point of tension between the two of them for much of the first third of the Ninth Season.

%% ** Davis Bloome.
%%* GodTest: Tess orchestrates one in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E16Turbulence Turbulence]]".

** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS06E14Trespass Trespass]]": The blood under the door version. [[spoiler:Subverted later.]]

** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E16Turbulence Turbulence]]", when [[spoiler:Doomsday apparently kills Chloe in front of Jimmy]], her blood is splattered all over a window.

** The Kents, naturally [[spoiler: before Jonathan dies]]. They argue a few times, usually over Clark's most recent alien/superhero issues, but ultimately always support each other and him and work through their issues by talking them out.

** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E04Homecoming Homecoming]]", both Brainiac (5) and Greg Arkin (the villain of the second episode of the series who returned to his high school reunion to thank Clark for helping him overcome his madness).
%%** Alexander Luthor"/LX-15, one of the Lex clones, in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E13Beacon Beacon]]".

%%* HeroicBSOD: Clark, at the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E22Doomsday Doomsday]]".

%%* HollywoodNerd: Clark, Chloe, Jimmy, Emil.

%%* HorrorHunger: Season 1's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E07Craving Craving]]" most definitely.

** When Chloe and Clark are both [[NotHimself not themselves]], they do some intense making out right under Lana's nose. When Chloe strips Clark, the red kryptonite is removed and he is back to normal. He says this to Lana who slams the door in his face after NotWhatItLooksLike. He can't explain anyway as he must save Chloe before she get herself killed [[spoiler:as some parasite makes her dangerously impulsive]], and Clark can't tell Lana about the [[spoiler:red kryptonite]] anyway.

* INeedToGoIronMyDog: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E19Stiletto Stiletto]]", when Lois is operating as a superheroine.

::
:: Note that this is late at night and Shelby, Clark's dog, is in Smallville, not Metropolis.

* IfICantHaveYou:
* An astounding number of meteor freaks who pursued Lana had this as a modus operandi.
** And then there's [[spoiler:Davis, who was apparently A-OK with burying himself alive to stop his SuperpoweredEvilSide from rampaging around the world, but only if Chloe loved him. [[MurderTheHypotenuse If not...]]]]

** Played straight in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]" when [[spoiler:Oliver attacks Clark at his wedding while being controlled by ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} and Clark successfully talks him down.]]

%%** Going up to someone who’s HappilyAdopted with a picture and telling them that their real father was a murderer then getting mad when they don’t want to hear it.

%%* KryptoniteFactor

%%* LargeHam: Lionel (and the Earth-2 version even ''moreso''), both Zods, Rick Flag, Zor-El.

** Lana, Jonathan, and Pete forget everything after [[spoiler:they are cured of the Nicodemus flower's toxin.]]
** Chloe forget all about Clark's secret after [[spoiler:the parasite inside her is removed.]]

%%* LastGirlWins

** The band Music/RemyZero plays the show's theme song, "Save Me". In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E21Tempest Tempest]]", Remy Zero appears as themselves and plays "Save Me" for the high school dance. Clark and his friends comment, "These guys are awesome."

** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E15Fortune Fortune]]", during Clark and Lois' engagement party, [[spoiler: Oliver Queen]] makes the toast: "They've finally realised what the rest of us have known for a very long time."

%%* LoveIsInTheAir: "Heat"
%%* LoveMakesYouCrazy[=/=]LoveMakesYouEvil: Many of Lana's UnwantedHarem of stalkers.
%%* LoveMakesYouDumb: Clark towards Lana. Chloe towards Jimmy. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment Let's just leave it at that.]]

* {{MacGuffin}}: The show loved this trope. Almost every season features at least one object--often of Kryptonian origin--that various characters would be jockeying for control of, due to the perception that it would either grant them power or help them solve some mystery. Season 4's plot was especially centered around this trope, as Lex, Lionel, Genevieve Teague, Jason Teague, Lana, Lana's undead witch ancestor Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, Dr. Swann's foundation, and even a rogue unit of Chinese soldiers all start plotting and feuding with each other and tripping all over themselves to track down the Stones of Power, which combine to form [[spoiler: the Fortress of Solitude]]. Clark is [[{{RefusedTheCall}} reluctant]] to jump into the middle of this, as [[{{IJustWantToBeNormal}} his life now has some semblance of normalcy]] for once, but [[{{ResignedToTheCall}} circumstances and Jor-El essentially force him to hunt down the Stones himself]], because--in Jor-El's words--if any of these factions unite the Stones before he does, they could very well be overwhelmed by the temptation to misuse the Fortress's power. Jor-El fears that this would lead to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.

** Slade is probably the very worse case. He took a couple of hits from Hawkman's mace and somehow survives not one, but ''two'' huge explosions. The first one took one eye. The second one doesn't seem to even scratch him. [[spoiler:Lampshaded on the second occasion - a possible explanation might be that he is under the influence of {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}.]]

** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E21E22Finale Finale]]", has Clark learning how to [[{{Flight}} fly]] during [[FlightIsTheFinalPower the climax of the final episode]], in which he uses said ability to [[spoiler:defeat Darkseid and push Apokolips away from Earth]].

%%* NiceGuy:
%%** Clark Kent.
%%** Also Pete Ross.
%%** Jimmy starts off this way, until Davis Bloome enters the picture.

** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E12Pariah Pariah]]", people start getting viciously assaulted from behind in locked rooms and other enclosed spaces. Everyone accuses Alicia Baker, as she can {{teleport|ation}} and is a previously established psycho. Alicia protests that she has been cured of her insanity, and in fact, has an alibi for one of the attempts - she was with the town sheriff. [[spoiler: Eventually, Alicia gets assaulted and killed by the real culprit, Tim Westcott, a man with SuperStrength and the ability to transform into living sand, which was how he entered those locked rooms. When Clark found out, he [[UnstoppableRage wasn't happy...]]]]

** Lex says this to Pete, saying he knows how it is to love someone who is still infatuated with Clark Kent. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope But considering that he drugged Lana with synthetic hormones to fake a pregnancy and trick her into marrying him, emotionally abused her, and basically showed that he didn't love her at all, it falls flat.]]]]

* RaiseHimRightThisTime: In season 10, Tess tries to raise a clone of Lex Luthor to be a better man than the original. [[spoiler:While it ''almost'' backfires, it's ultimately discovered that he's a combined clone of both Lex and Clark, meaning he's actually the show's version of Connor Kent, the modern Superboy, and Clark's DNA overriding Lex's firmly cements him to the side of good.]]

%%* RedemptionEqualsDeath

** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E18Eternal Eternal]]": An unusual version - [[spoiler:liquid kryptonite rains on Davis on his request, apparently killing him.]]

* ResurrectiveImmortality: A specific variation. [[spoiler:When [[EmpathicHealer Chloe]] heals fatal injuries, it kills her, but she could resurrect herself. However, when she saves Lois, she is dead for 3 hours. When she saves Lex, she remains dead for 18 hours. Clark thinks if she tries it again, she might stay dead. Permanently.]]

%%* ReunionRevenge: Linda Lake in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E15Infamous Infamous]]".

** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E04Slumber Slumber]]", the bad guy of the week tries to toss a reusable lighter to light a fire that would lead to a big explosion. [[spoiler: But it's {{Averted|Trope}} as Clark catches the lighter before it can light anything up.]]
** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E12Hereafter Hereafter]]", the MonsterOfTheWeek tosses a Zippo to light up a big fire to burn himself [[spoiler: as well as Lana and another girl from the school.]]

** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E17Checkmate Checkmate]]", Amanda Waller shows Clark a TV screen depicting an agent holding a gun to Chloe's head and demands that he serve Checkmate or watch her die. [[spoiler:The gunman makes the fatal mistake of talking, allowing Clark to hear him and figure out his location. Then, he simply speeds over to him and takes him out.]]
** LX-13 does this in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E01Lazarus Lazarus]]". Tying Lois Lane up in a field, he sets fire to the crops around her; he's already left a bomb in the ''Daily Planet' building. He then confronts Clark, asking him whether he'll let his girlfriend die, or sacrifice thousands of people in the streets of Metropolis. Clark [[spoiler:saves them both]].

** Chloe Sullivan once ''died'' saving Lex (''after'' he went evil). [[spoiler:Luckily, she [[ResurrectiveImmortality doesn't stay dead]], although Clark was seriously worried and actually refused to let her do that at first, but [[MoreHeroThanThou Chloe decides to save Lex anyway once Clark is unconscious.]]]] This is important because this event triggers both his HeelFaceTurn and ProtagonistJourneyToVillain, although his exact alignment and motives are always kept very ambiguous except at the very end.

** Lex does one at the end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E10Persona Persona]]" after [[spoiler:his hired assassin informs him of successfully murdering Grant Gabriel, a clone that he created of his dead younger brother Julian, who turned his back on him for Lionel.]] This normally would have counted as his MoralEventHorizon, but because of the grief and regret that he showed by doing this, he was still considered at least a little sympathetic among most fans.

%%* SugarAndIcePersonality: Dr. Emil Hamilton.
%%* {{Superhero}}

** In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E11Unsafe Unsafe]]": [[spoiler:Alicia (who is not bulletproof) takes a (normal) bullet for Clark because she promised to always keep his secret, which would have been revealed if he had been shot.]]

%%* TokenMinority: No, not the Kryptonian, smart-ass.

** [[spoiler:Jonathan's watch becomes this to Clark after his death.]] It gets stolen in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E13Vengeance Vengeance]]" by a gangster and Clark almost kills him for it. By the end of the episode, Lana buys it from a pawnshop and gives it to Clark.

** Lex Luthor's main drive starts out as "protecting mankind from aliens and meteor freaks". Yes, Clark and [[spoiler:Chloe]] are probably on those two hitlists respectively, and you know where he ended up.

* WhamEpisode:
%%** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E16Descent Descent]]"
%%** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E11Icarus Icarus]]"
** Season 10's "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E15Fortune Fortune]]" was--based on the fact that Creator/AllisonMack was only going to be in five episodes in the FinaleSeason--Chloe's probably-final appearance, so her leaving in this episode was not a surprise. The fact that Oliver goes with her for an undetermined length of time is the surprise. Oh, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and Tess and Emil might]] just be [[PairTheSpares hooking up now]]...

** The character of Curtis Knox actually has had to deal with this multiple times, leading him to [[spoiler:commit multiple murders to acquire meteor-infected body parts so his (current) wife can live forever with him, since he is immortal.]] He's like a worst-case possible future version of Clark, crossed with Vandal Savage.

** Lionel Luthor is extremely good at this. To exemplify: When Chloe is blessed/cursed with the gift of having anyone answer her questions truthfully, she does of course start asking Lionel questions. [[spoiler: He realizes what's going on after the first question and immediately counter-attacks her on her weak spots, thereby distracting a highly intelligent, fearless and incredibly nosy young woman from using her golden chance to get into the secrets of a powerful, rich baddie. She could have asked questions every moment, she was just too stunned to do so.]]

** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E12Reckoning Reckoning]]" had Clark finally tell Lana his secret and propose to her at the same time. That was TheTeaser! She accepts the proposal, Jonathan Kent wins the state senate seat, beating Lex Luthor and everything seems perfect up til the 30-minute mark when [[spoiler: Lana is killed in a car accident caused by Lex trying to get Clark's secret out of her. Clark gets Jor-El to [[ResetButton rewind time]], ignoring his warning that [[BalancingDeathsBooks the universe would find someone else to die if he saves Lana]]. Clark doesn't tell Lana his secret, but Jonathan still wins the senate seat only to die from a heart attack]].

*** Finally rescued from the HellholePrison after locked in there for three months...[[spoiler:Clark [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dies in her arms]] (he gets better, obviously).]]
*** Meeting this friendly, handsome paramedic... [[spoiler:turns out to be the human form of Doomsday.]]
*** Getting married to Jimmy... [[spoiler:only for Doomsday to crash the wedding, kidnap her to be possessed by Brainiac and maul Jimmy half to death. Oh, and she came ''this'' close to dying about three times.]]
*** Clark reveals his secret to the world and she is happy for him... [[spoiler:then Doomsday killed her. Good thing the ResetButton was handy.]]
*** Jimmy is finally getting better and [[TemptingFate she is convinced it is going to be happily ever after]]...[[spoiler:Jimmy divorces her and spirals into drug abuse at the end of the ''same episode''.]]
*** Davis is split from Doomsday, Jimmy makes up with her...[[spoiler:then Davis goes crazy jealous and kills Jimmy. Lois vanishes and Clark abandons her.]]

Created by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar alongside Tollin/Robbins Productions (best known for shows such as ''Series/AllThat'' & ''Series/OneTreeHill''), ''Smallville'' premiered on October 16, 2001. The show started out as more of a TeenDrama, focusing largely on Clark's interactions with his friends, family, and LoveInterests, and how this leads to his [[CharacterDevelopment development]] as a SuperHero. It initially took a MonsterOfTheWeek approach to most episodes, introducing "[[AliensAndMonsters meteor freaks]]" who gain various [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity powers]] thanks to exposure to [[GreenRocks Kryptonite]] deposited in Smallville during the meteor shower which heralded Clark's arrival. As the years went by, a more diverse array of adversaries were gradually introduced, and the TeenDrama elements fell away in favor of a somewhat darker tone, and a much deeper connection to DC Comics lore.

* AccidentalAthlete: In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS01E03Hothead Hothead]]", a bullying football team member throws a football at Chloe's head. Clark Kent catches it and throws it back hard enough to floor the bully. The coach lets Clark on the team after this.

** In one episode, Jonathan (played by John Schneider) is driving his pickup truck while ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'' theme song plays on the radio. In another ''Dukes of Hazzard'' allusion, when a State Senator played by Tom Wopat shows up, we learn that he and Jonathan are best friends. John Schneider said, according to the DVD commentary on Season 1, that he was in an airport around the time the show premiered, and it was the first time in 20 years he was recognized for a role other than being a Duke boy.
*** "Precipice" has the new sheriff telling Jonathan to his face that "those GoodOlBoy days are over".
*** The episode with Tom Wopat has them bringing up that he was "under the bleachers with the sheriff's daughters", which is hilarious as the sheriff on Dukes of Hazzard was the IneffectualSympatheticVillain. And Lex is the one who says "good ol' boy" this time.
** When Creator/MargotKidder, the Lois Lane actress from Chris Reeve's ''Film/{{Superman}}'' movies, shows up as the assistant to Reeve's character Dr. Swann, she implies that she and Dr. Swann were/are attracted to each other. When questioned as to whether they had ever been in a relationship together, Kidder's character wistfully replies "In another lifetime."

** Creator/JamesMarsters, famous for playing the vampire Spike on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', plays a professor who denies the existence of vampires. The main villain of the episode is a girl named Buffy who has been turned into a vampire-like being. Though the Buffy name is an in-universe reference, as Chloe says she's changed the names.

** Being cast as Metallo, we have Brian Austin Green as [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles a cyborg again]].
* AdaptationDyeJob: Lana Lang was a [[HeroesWantRedheads redhead]] in the comics, and Lois Lane had [[BrainyBrunette jet-black hair]]. In this version, Lana is a brunette and Lois starts out with light-brown hair.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Like ''Film/ManOfSteel'' would do later, Zod is given a new personality and motivation for his actions. Depicted as more of a strategic planner due to being de-powered for the most part, he actually seeks out to befriend Clark, believing he can help their people gain their powers like him, and actually strikes up a friendship with Lois (mostly to manipulate her). His motivation is also changed; instead of wishing to rule ForTheEvulz, he was originally a noble, charismatic military leader [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds whose family died in the battle of Kandor, and was denied the chance to clone his beloved son, resulting in his]] StartOfDarkness. He's a literal WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds in this case too, as he's responsible for the destruction of Krypton in this continuity.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: A lot of characters (specifically ComicBook/LexLuthor, ComicBook/LoisLane and various superheroes and supervillains) in the show showed up years '''before''' Clark Kent even became Franchise/{{Superman}}.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Zor-El was a good guy in the comics, but a villainous would-be conqueror in the series.
* AIIsACrapshoot: Brainiac (it's implied that Zod corrupted his programming).
* AlasPoorVillain: Lex in Season 8 attracts this reaction in-universe.
* AlreadyMetEveryone: Almost everyone ''except'' Franchise/{{Batman}} and Franchise/WonderWoman.
* AlternateContinuity: It's not ''impossible'' to reconcile the Arrowverse version of the Crisis with the one that already happened in the ''Smallville'' Season 11 comics — it might explain why Clark was so blasé about the idea — but it's probably best to regard them as two separate continuities.
* AlternateUniverse: While the show itself had examples in "[[FilmNoir Noir]]," "[[ItsAWonderfulPlot Apocalypse]]," and "[[ForWantOfANail Luthor]]", ''Smallville'' itself is one relative to the rest of the ''Arrowverse''.
* AmnesiacLiar: When Chloe tells Clark he's a meteor freak in "Blank," though she didn't know that she was lying since she really did think he was meteor-infected.

* AndThenWhat: One could deconstruct Zod's motivation as failing to take this into account, since he doesn't appear to have ''any'' long-term goal other than to take over Earth to turn it into a New Krypton. In fact, the BadFuture seen in "Pandora" shows that the Kandorians don't seem to be doing more than spinning their wheels, rounding up humans in slave camps, all while letting the planet fall into a state of disrepair. Behold the ''[[SarcasmMode glorious]]'' New Krypton, folks?!

* ApologisesALot: Clark and Lana.

** A good example is "Legion", where despite having spent the last eight years dealing with meteor-infected humans, naturally occurring superheroes, and alien visitors from other worlds... apparently {{time travel}} is considered to be ''too'' ridiculous?!
*** Clark himself had actually time traveled at least twice ("Reckoning" and "Apocalypse") before "Legion".

** Glaringly subverted in "Spirit" where a case of BodySurf is {{handwave}}d by Chloe saying "We ''are'' in Smallville."
* ArtifactAlias: Oliver Queen continues using his ComicBook/GreenArrow alias and costume, right down to the voice-changer that gives him a BadassBaritone, even after revealing his identity on national TV at the end of the "[[Recap/SmallvilleS10E03Supergirl Supergirl]]" episode.
* ArtifactTitle: By Season 8, Clark had left Smallville to join the ''Daily Planet'' in Metropolis (as he obviously had to, sooner or later), though an argument could be made that "Smallville" is now more a reference to Clark himself, via Lois' nickname for him. Also, Clark doesn't think of himself as Franchise/{{Superman}} at this point; Seasons 8-10 are about him letting go of his Smallville life to become the man he needs to be. "Smallville" was how he hid in the shadows; "Superman" is when he steps into the light.
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: In "Nemesis", Lana threatened Lionel with the fact that she has power of attorney and is in charge of making his medical decisions. The problem is that not only is Lionel recovering but he is conscious so not only can’t Lana do anything besides create mild inconveniences but he can revoke the power of attorney.
* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: In "Action", Lionel was stuck in a trap for at least a day that should for all intents and purposes had caused him to lose his hand due to how long he was trapped and how sharp the trap was.
* AsideGlance: Halfway into the tenth and final season, Clark returns from the dystopian Earth-2, but not without someone tagging along for the ride: Earth-2's Lionel, still alive and well, takes in the sights while a newspaper man tries to fix him in his memory. Creator/JohnGlover buys a paper, looks straight in the camera, and basically says he's pumped for the series finale.

* AxesAtSchool: The {{Trope Namer|s}}, from the Season 3 episode "Delete". In Season 4's "Spirit", the trope comes up again.
* BabyDollBaby: In the episode "Memoria", Lex is sitting on a high balcony, in the rain, apparently hallucinating that he is rocking his baby brother Julian to sleep. He's singing to the blanket and tells his father to be quiet or he'll wake the baby. He thinks he found the baby inside of his dorm, crying, and told Julian that he'd never let anyone hurt him again.

** Aaron Ashmore reappeared as Jimmy Olsen...the ''real'' Jimmy Olsen.

* BadassArmy: Zod and the Kandorians in Season 9.
* BadassBoast: Amusingly, we get one from ''the surgeon'' about to undo life-threatening AND crippling shots to Lex Luthor on Christmas Eve no less, in "Lexmas".

** The Luthors are a villainous example. Between Lionel, [[BadassLongcoat Lex]], and [[DarkActionGirl Tess]], they definitely count.

* BadFuture: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E18Apocalypse Apocalypse]]", "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E09Pandora Pandora]]"

** The end of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E01Vortex Vortex]]." Nixon threatens to expose Clark to the world and there's nothing Jonathan can do about it... Lex and a bullet though...

* BatmanGambit: Clark and Oliver pull one off in "Dominion". They knew Zod wouldn't be able to resist killing Clark himself.

* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Jor-El's favorite trope, apparently. We already know the ending; this show's about the journey.

* BeneficialDisease: In "Ryan," the titular character has a brain tumor that gives him telepathy. It's revealed to be fatal, however, and they are unable to reach an expert who could possibly save him before it's too late.

* BigBad:
** Lionel, Brainiac, Lex, Davis/Doomsday, a younger clone of Zod with an army of Kryptonian clones at his command, and Comicbook/{{Darkseid}}.

** And while it was brief, Michael Rosenbaum showed up in the finale.
* BigBadEnsemble: After Lionel started turning around, most seasons would feature at least two antagonists who would frequently get in one another's way.
** Season 4 had [[EvilMatriarch Genevieve Teague]] and [[WickedWitch Isobel]].
** Season 7 had [[ManipulativeBastard Lex]] and [[RoboticPsychopath Brainiac]].
** Season 8 had [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Tess]] and [[PersonOfMassDestruction Doomsday]] (with Faora as TheManBehindTheMan).
** Season 9 had Zod and [[GovernmentConspiracy Checkmate]].
** Season 10 is really complicated with Comicbook/{{Darkseid}}, Rick Flag, Alexander, Earth-2 Lionel, and the real Lex all competing for the title.

* BlingOfWar: In "Rogue", Lex shows Clark a breastplate that once belonged to Alexander the Great. In addition to [[MythologyGag looking strikingly like Superman's costume]], it's made out of gold and crusted all over with sapphires and rubies.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Chloe, Lois, and Tess, respectively. Also, the Kent family, with Jonathan, Clark, and Martha.
* BloodSplatteredWeddingDress: Chloe in "Bride" and "Legion".
* BodySurf: The Phantoms, Zod, numerous meteor freaks, the witches in "Spell," Darkseid.

** An almost perfect example--in the pilot episode, Lex rescues Clark from a prank of being strung up on a scarecrow post in the middle of a field. In the first episode of the last season, the Old Lex clone ties Lois up on the same post as bait for his and Clark's TheLastDance. The clone actually [[LampshadeHanging comments]] on this to both of them.

* BoundAndGagged: Lana, most of the time. Though Clark had a few notable examples. Chloe in "Checkmate".
* {{Brainwashed}}: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E07Magnetic Magnetic]]," "[[Recap/SmallvilleS03E11Delete Delete]]," "[[AppliedPhlebotinum Odyssey]]," "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E14Persuasion Persuasion]]."
* BoysLikeCreepyCritters: In the first episode after the pilot, the MonsterOfTheWeek boy who was into bugs. His mother didn't know what he could do with such a hobby; apparently she's never heard of entomology.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E16Hypnotic Hypnotic]]". If it's not Clark cheating on Lana, it's Martha Kent wielding a shotgun and acting like she's confiscating a child's video games.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Inverted. Brainiac 5 is quite sane and nice after he is reprogrammed.

** In "Fragile", Clark hopes to relate to the young budding artist and meteor freak of the week Maddie through her art -- but he's a TerribleArtist. At the end of the episode, it's revealed that Maddie took Clark's drawing and did her best to improve on it.

** At the end of "Unsafe", Martha lectures Clark on using better judgment about something he did ''while he was on red kryptonite'', which impairs his judgment. Characters in the show are pretty consistently forgiven for things they did while they weren't themselves, including at the beginning of Season 3 when Clark comes home after a much longer bout with red kryptonite in Metropolis ''during which he was committing serious crimes''. And for all of that he was on red kryptonite voluntarily, whereas in "Unsafe", Alicia gives it to him without his knowledge.
** The moral of "Bound" seems to be that if you use women like a paper towel, it will come back to haunt you, even if you're rich. Problem is, it's not what plays out in the show; the women were shown to be perfectly willing parties, with the victim being the one who initiated the relationship. The episode seems to completely ignore that given Lex’s past relationships with women, it is perfectly understandable why he would opt for meaningless flings, but of the only two women who had a problem with this, the murderer and her victim both proved to be completely insane. The victim coming across as a stalker and the murderer trying to invoke NeverMyFault.
* BroughtDownToNormal: Used often; never sticks. To be fair, at least once with Clark, it stuck for two episodes (longer than it's ever stuck in a Superman series outside of the comics). And with Comicbook/MartianManhunter, it stuck till Comicbook/DoctorFate restored his abilities.

* BuffySpeak: "Bug bites boy, and boy becomes bug boy!"
* TheBusCameBack: Pete Ross returned for one episode in Season 7, and Lana returned partway through Season 8 for a small story arc. Kara in Season 8's "Bloodline" and Season 10's "Supergirl". Season 10 had practically ''every'' major character who had departed the show [[ContinuityPorn return in some way]] during the season. Notably, Pete and Lana were the only living characters not to return during the season, whilst any other characters who didn't come back had been KilledOffForReal. Not that being dead managed to stop Jonathan, Lionel, and Lex from returning in some capacity.

** "Justice" (in an awesome closing scene), "Requiem."
** Episodes that introduce a SuperHero from Franchise/TheDCU end with this--"Run", "Aqua," and "Cyborg".
** And in Season 10, Chloe in "Fortune".

** In Season 7, Lex ends up creating his own CainAndAbel, when it's revealed he made Grant Gabriel as a clone of his dead baby brother. When Grant discovers this, he becomes very angry and hateful of Lex. Grant tries to form a familial relationship with their father Lionel against Lex's wishes. So Lex hires a hitman to gun him down. Then Lex goes outside to scream in the rain.

** Lex and Clark have been billed as being in a Cain-and-Abel relationship since the very first episode, it seems. On Earth-2, Clark was adopted by Lionel Luthor and it didn't end well for Lex. And Lionel is OK with that because he believes in social Darwinism. However, Lionel was furious that his adoptive son hadn't killed him yet, as should be expected. After coming to "our" universe, he soon began to miss his son and planned to revive "our" Lex. Which he did.
** Jor-El and Zod were also similar to Clark and Lex.
** Lex ultimately ends up the Cain to yet another sibling: younger half-sister [[WellIntentionedExtremist Tess]] [[BrokenAce Mercer]], who he murders in the GrandFinale. His reasoning is that it's a version of a MercyKill so that she doesn't end up [[CardCarryingVillain like]] [[TheSociopath him]], but few people buy that; he almost definitely killed her so that she was out of his way, since at the time she had control of [=LuthorCorp=].
* CallBack: "Asylum" has several past villains reappear when the action enters Belle Reve.
* CallForward: As mentioned elsewhere, this happens constantly and in spades. Though it comes up rather [[{{Prequel}} naturally]]. Properly the most notable one is Clark becoming Superman, Lois and Clark hooking up, and Lex becoming the villain. However, there were twists that did come out of nowhere, such as [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Conner Kent]] in ''Season 10'' and Jonathan Kent dying in ''Season 5'' but do occur if you have seen the right clue.

** At Comic Con 2010, [[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/comics/news/a250561/chloe-sullivan-comes-to-comics.html it was announced]] that Chloe Sullivan had become part of the [[Franchise/{{Superman}} official DC Superman comics]].
** Played straight with Lionel Luthor, who is now canonically Lex's father. Lionel, and Creator/JohnGlover's portrayal of him, resonated so well that he was written into the comics as Lex's canonical (and deceased) father. While Lex had obviously always had a (deceased by the time of the "present day") father, this character had never had a consistent name or physical appearance and usually had no importance. But ever since ''Smallville'', Lex's father is explicitly named "Lionel Luthor" and flashback scenes have depicted him as looking very similar to the actor. A zombiefied, Black Lantern version of Lionel even showed up for revenge against Lex in ''Comicbook/BlackestNight''.
** Besides characters, various elements from ''Smallville'' that have made their way into the comics include the ''Smallville'' version of Comicbook/GreenArrow's costume which--as of the Comicbook/{{New 52}}--is now Ollie's official costume. Also, Oliver's clean-shaven appearance from ''Smallville'' has made its way into the comics as of the Comicbook/{{New 52}} (these last two changes can be attributed to the fact that ''Smallville'''s version of Ollie is probably the best-known version to the general public). Also the idea of ComicBook/LexLuthor spending time in Smallville during Clark's teenage years--though originally an idea from the Silver Age ''Superboy'' comic books that was retconned away at the start of the Post-Crisis era--was brought back into continuity largely thanks to ''Smallville''. And more, Ma and Pa Kent in the comics have started to look like older versions of CreatorAnnetteOToole and John Schneider, even though it often [[DependingOnTheArtist depends on the artist]].
** As of Creator/GeoffJohns's SupermanSecretOrigins miniseries, ''Smallville'''s idea of a young Clark learning how to use his powers while secretly defending the citizens of Smallville from meteor freaks is now officially part of Superman's backstory in the comics.

** Several people who know Clark's secret have been committed to a mental hospital, and so their claims aren't believed. Pete also once tried to expose Clark but predictably failed.

** "Tempest": a tornado hits Smallville.
** "Commencement": Another meteor shower hits the town.
** "Vessel": Brainiac unleashes a computer virus that causes all technology on Earth to shut down, causing mass hysteria.

** Likewise, Clark and Lois, who initially found each other's company difficult, grow closer as they both discover their journalistic callings and shared passion for justice.

** Cat Grant (the one introduced in Season 10, not Season 9) went through this as well, as she comes to appreciate The Blur in "Booster".
* CharacterShilling: Many characters kept praising Lana Lang since the beginning of the series without actual reason.
* ChekhovsGun: Plenty throughout the series run; for example in "Icarus", Lois escapes from Slade's soldiers in the ''Daily Planet'' building by using the escape tube in Tess' office, which was established as existing a season earlier.
* CheshireCatGrin: Tess is REALLY good at doing this. Whenever she's plotting something, or something she plotted has come through, she'll pull one of these. Subverted, as what she's planning usually isn't exactly evil; it's just morally ambiguous.

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Chloe seems to be the unlucky childhood friend, especially since we all know that Clark marries her cousin.
* ChristmasEpisode: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E09Lexmas Lexmas]]" centered on Lex's "prefect" dream in which he is married with Lana, with a young boy and expecting a girl, and Clark is with Chloe. He gives up the senator race but wins the Humanitarian award of the year, and is on excellent terms with everyone except Lionel, but who cares? At least, not until the dreaded DreamApocalypse...
* TheCityNarrows: Called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Suicide Slums]] here.
* ClarkKenting: Not so much Clark himself, but Oliver Queen. He dresses up like Myth/RobinHood for a party in "Wither," then in the ''next'' episode, the Green Arrow (Oliver in disguise) steals a necklace at a party. Lois, of course, [[LovesMyAlterEgo doesn't see a connection]].
* ClearTheirName: "Suspect," "Infamous," "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E09Bound Bound]]."
* {{Cliffhanger}}: Every season finale up until the series finale ends with one. Usually with major characters in mortal peril.
* CloningBlues:
** The Lara and Zor-El clones in Season 7's "Blue".
** Zod and the Kandorian soldiers in Season 9, Jor-El in "Kandor".
** The Lana clone created just to be killed, so she could [[FakingTheDead fake her death]]. Lex would do practically the same exact thing to [[FakingTheDead fake his death]].
** Grant Gabriel and Adrian Cross, aka Julian Luthor. Season 7 in general could have reasonably been given the tagline "Attack of the Clones", given that this season features all the clones mentioned above (except for the Zod clone from Season 9 and his army, of course), plus Bizarro for three episodes.
** Season 10's "Lazarus" features more clones intended for organ transplants for Lex. One was in a tank, another was a child, and a third, more aged clone, oddly similar to [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort]]. The child clone survived and turned very, very [[EnfantTerrible evil]]... except after going through the CloningBlues, the clone was revealed to be Conner Kent/Superboy (who had gone through his own share of CloningBlues).

* CompositeCharacter: The comic book continuation introduces a version of Batman's archenemy the Joker, who in this continuity is an evil version of Bruce Wayne from another reality, which makes him similar to Batman's Crime Syndicate counterpart Owlman.
* CompressedVice: Pete’s sudden interest in building and racing cars in "Velocity" despite never talking about it before.
* ConsultingAConvictedKiller: After someone frames Lex for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Clark visits Lex's father in prison, wondering if he somehow managed to orchestrate this from behind bars. Lionel denies involvement, but he does help Clark figure out the killer's identity, another one of Lex's exes.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Except some of them turn out [[ThereAreNoCoincidences not to be the coincidences]] they first appeared.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: In "Metamorphosis", Clark saves Whitney from a fireball by covering his back with his body. We actually see the fireball engulfing Whitney's uncovered front, and we are shown that the blast super-heats Clark's body to the point that his father is burned just by touching him, but Whitney is fine... somehow. Actually, the same kind of "fireball rescue" happens often enough that the show might as well be saying that Clark can extend his invulnerability to someone else by hugging them.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The Luthors and Tess Mercer. Oliver Queen is very much a subversion, though.
* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: in "Pilot," "Hourglass," "Accelerate," and "Hereafter".

* CreepyChild: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E21Accelerate Accelerate]]"
* CrucifiedHeroShot: Clark gets this trope on occasion. It starts in the pilot when he's strung up as the Scarecrow in a very literal crucifixion, he gets another in "Hidden" after being shot by Gabriel, and in "Salvation" after being stabbed by Zod with blue kryptonite. As Superman can be seen as [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory a Jesus allegory]], this makes sense.

* DamselInDistress: Lana, Chloe, and Lois. Clark himself gets into easily as much distress as any other character. He has a more dedicated nemesis than anybody else on the show, a crippling weakness, and any number of people who want to capture him to exploit his powers/study the alien.

** Compared to the light-hearted Season 2, Season 3 ''definitely'' counts. Only in certain spots though. There are still a lot of episodes in Season Three that focus on one episode story lines that drove the first two seasons with the same mix of humour and actual peril. However, it is also the first season to focus more on big-picture elements, and it deals with the main characters going though a lot more turmoil. Clark starts off the season dealing with his dark side and living a very rough and rebellious lifestyle in Metropolis, Lex has a psychotic break (well, partly) and ends up institutionalized at Belle Reve, Chloe's life is turned into a living nightmare at times, and Pete starts to occasionally feel the bad effects of keeping Clark's secret under wraps.

* DeadlyDisc: "Savior", during the fight between the Kandorian woman and Clark.

* DisneyVillainDeath: Given rather unceremoniously to Lionel in the ColdOpen of "Descent".
* TheDogBitesBack: "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E19Precipice Precipice]]"

* DoingResearch

** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E20Ageless Ageless]]": Evan, the rapidly aging boy Clark and Lana grew to love, ages to the point of being an old man and dies. Lex's final line, just a few episodes after "Onyx," indicates he's now well and truly become evil.

** "Salvation": Clark is able to send Zod and all the Kandorians away, saving Earth. However, Clark has a dagger made of [[PowerNullifier blue kryptonite]] stabbed into him and is falling to his death off the building. He gets better, though.
* DrivenToVillainy: Several of the "meteor freaks".

** Used to a ridiculous grade in "Finale", when Tess simply smudges a neurotoxin in Lex's face making him forget everything, not just Clark-related stuff; every single thing that ever happened in his life is completely and instantly erased. So much for a FreudianExcuse now.

* ElectionDayEpisode: The class president election is the main focus in "Drone", and several episodes in season five revolving around the senatorial election, coming to a conclusion in "[[WhamEpisode Reckoning]]".
* ElectrifiedBathtub: At the beginning of "Red", a rogue federal agent murders new girl Jessie's ex-boyfriend this way.

* EngineeredHeroics: "Obscura" featured a policeman who kidnapped Chloe in an attempt to get credit for finding her. When that failed due to him and Lana having a telepathic connection, he decided he'd rather get the credit for solving the latter's murder...
* EngineeredPublicConfession: In the Season 9 finale. Zod, did you forget that your followers have super hearing?
* EnhanceButton: Chloe pull this one in "Void". And the pic came from one of her "sources" so its quality is pretty questionable.

** There are some sharp similarities between Comicbook/GreenArrow's characterization and relationship with Clark, and that of Franchise/{{Batman}}. Throw in the fact that ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' meant the writers couldn't use Bruce, and that makes a lot of sense all of a sudden. Appropriate, given that initially Comicbook/GreenArrow was very much [[PoorMansSubstitute the poor man's Batman]] in the comics, with his earliest stories featuring Speedy as a blatant {{Expy}} of Robin, as well as an Arrow-Mobile and even an "Arrow Cave."

** The fangirl from "Fanatic" sneaks into Lex's place [[GoingCommando in just a trench coat]], head shaved like Music/BritneySpears to resemble Lex. Yep. She's ''batshit crazy''.
* {{Fanservice}}:
** Lois in swimsuit and {{Female Gaze}}s up Curry's torso in "Aqua" are sure to serve everyone's interests.
*** Really, any time Lois has to go "undercover" for a story, it's a pretty good bet that sooner or later she'll wind up "undercovered".
** Vala being held hostage in her underwear in the episode "Conspiracy". In broader terms, Lana and Lois did their fair share (the latter gets tons in later seasons), although not so much for Chloe.
** Also, as noted above: [[http://27.media.tumblr.com/rcSEczBP9kzlg2qq0qXyDHgVo1_500.jpg Tom Welling]], [[http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lLsdaCVk3Kk/SU1d_Ndx31I/AAAAAAAAqik/NXMAZNnhk7k/ShawnAshmore12.jpg Aaron Ashmore]], [[http://www.kryptonsite.com/bloodline103.jpg Sam Witwer]], [[http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/EPY_3CcuNmk/maxresdefault.jpg Justin Hartley]], and [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RWOnrKFYUwQ/SKXB4cDIyJI/AAAAAAAAbLs/kw7XMF95xSk/s400/alan+ritchson+65.jpg Alan Ritchson]].